Wish You Weren't Here
by CindyLoo
Summary: Nearly a year after Spike's untimely death, life onboard the Bebop has finally become stable. That is until Ed receives a note on her Tomato from…”Who?” FxS -Chapter 7 is now up-
1. The New Life

WOW! First FanFict! Hope you enjoy it! And go ahead and flame me if you want, criticism is always a good way to learn of your faults. Anyways, enjoy and tell me what you think!

Summary: Nearly a year after Spike's unfortunate death, life onboard the Bebop has become stable. That is until Ed receives a note on her Tomato from who? (FxS) -

Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop, although many of us wish that we did!

---Wish You Weren't Here---

'Where is he?' Faye said as she searched around a smoky bar, squinting her eyes to prevent the stinging that was threatening her already burning eyes.

Giving up on searching the room, she sat down on a stool at the bar. Ordered herself a drink and sipped it slowly, feeling it burn on its way down. Faye sighed deeply, and placed a cigarette to her lips.

She glanced around and saw someone's lighter lying on bar top next to her. She grabbed it and used the dancing flame to light her cigarette with and quickly placed it back. After breathing in the delicious smoke she glanced to the person next to her, seeing if they had noticed.

The man that sat beside her apparently had, his face stared at her with keen eyes. Faye looked at him curiously. He continued to stare and getting impatient Faye blurted out, "Hey bud, I just used your lighter for a second, it's not a reason to get all bent up about. I'll buy you a new one if you really want, alright?" Still the man stared, his grey eyes boring within her soul.

"Hey! What is your problem?" Faye asked while waving her hand in front of his face to see if he'd blink. Deciding that this town was far too odd for her she grabbed her glass, slugged it down and slammed it on the table, all in one smooth motion. She shot up from her stool, and sent it tipping. Giving the man one last vengeful glance she left the bar, upset. She did not find what she was looking for.

Faye called for her Redtail by her bracelet and jumped inside and sealed the pod. Once inside she took off the grungy planet and headed in the direction of where she had left the Bebop.

Frustrated with the last events, she thought back to the past months. It had almost been a year since that man left them all to fend for themselves. He was selfish, rude and too cocky for any of them to understand. She had finally just come to the realization that Spike was in fact dead and was never coming back.

Faye had originally believed of his death as fake, that he was somewhere alive and he would return eventually, but Jet's reassuring attitude had finally become real, he was dead, and was never coming home.

Through these hard times Jet had become the father figure of the Bebop. Ed and Ein came back two months after Spike's disappearance and Jet was the one that broke to her the news of his death. Ed had ran around the Bebop for a whole day searching it for "Spike-Person" and she kept coming up empty. She was determined that he had been playing hide-and-seek. Faye would have thought that more than anyone Ed would have been able to find Spike had he been alive, but even the master hacker came up empty.

Faye on the other hand had seemingly gone through a depression, only to become more and more depressed with each passing day. Coming to the realization of Spike's death was hard, and Jet was there to pick up her broken pieces. Bit by bit he helped her stand tall, and eventually the Bebop became something of what it had been before Spike's leaving, minus Spike of course.

Faye had taken over the bounty hunting which Jet would occasionally assist with, while Ed did all the detective work at the Bebop. Things had become organized once again, and life was becoming some what routine.

Faye hadn't forgotten about Spike entirely though. The fact that she let him leave her that day in the hanger, she has beaten herself about that moment countless of times. Never will she forgive herself for not telling him her real feelings, and then letting him walk off to his grave. Never again. Never again will Faye let up an opportunity to do or say something go.

Still, Spike was on her mind endlessly. In fact, he never left her mind. While walking through a crowd, with one glance of green hair and with a snap her neck and her mind screamed, 'Spike!' but it never was him, standing with his cocky smile. Instead it was just endless people, paying no attention to the frantic Faye. The more it seemed to happen the more it would disappoint her.

And yet life moved on, the Bebop became more and more like a family. Jet was the father, he would help everyone with their problems, and he even did the chores and made them all food. He was a good father, he was wise and kind. Faye realized that had it not been for Jet she would have lost it that day.

Ed of course was the little kid, even though she is a talented hacker that can crack any computer code within a matter of seconds. Despite her intelligence she did manage to get herself in a lot of trouble, but Faye still loved the girl. She had grown on her, and even that damned dog Ein had too. She hated that mutt, but she's found herself more attached it to, even if it did know how to tick her off at times.

Faye was something more along the lines of the teenager, sister and man of the house. She did all the work that brought home the money, and she never stole and lazed off like she had done when Spike was around. Faye took the responsibilities of the Bebop and placed them on her shoulders.

Maybe out getting bounties and bringing home the rewards helped her in some way to relieve the pain she felt when she was in the Bebop. Everything reminded her of him.

Spike...

Faye neared the Bebop hanger, and she lowered her Redtail to the floor. After landing she opened her pod, but instead of climbing out she sighed.

Leaning her head backwards and staring at the ceiling she thought of his face. His green messy hair, and that cocky smile. His hands in his pockets and the way he'd walk as if he owned the place. Wow, that man could make her so mad she'd want to kill him, but something deep down inside of her told her different. There was something about that man. Something she just couldn't place...

"Faye-Faye! You're back! Did you find him!?" Ed exclaimed jumping up and down trying to see Faye from her point of view on the ground. "Fayyyyye Fayyyye?" Ed pouted, "Why do you ignore Edward?"

"I'm sorry Ed, I didn't get the bounty. I need more information," Faye stated as she hopped down from her Redtail.

"Okay! Edward will get alllll the information Faye Faye needs!" Ed said while moving her arms like wet noodles.

Faye rolled her eyes, "All right, you do that." Ed was doing cartwheels as the walked back into the Bebop.

"Ed has a surprise for Faye-Faye!" Ed said while laughing mischievously. "Oh? And what's that Ed?" Faye said with a sarcastic tone.

"Come! Edward will show you!" Ed said excitedly as she grabbed hold of Faye's arm and practically flew into the Bebop.

Once inside Ed was pointing at her Tomato. The screen had many floating boxes of information all around the screen. Confused of what she was to look at Faye asked, "What is the surprise, Ed?"

Getting annoyed Ed frowned, "You don't see? Look!" Ed pointed to a small box to the corner of the screen; next to it was one of Ed's copyrighted smiley faces. The font was small and it read,

_Ed,_

_I'm coming to the Bebop. See you soon._

_-Spike_

"What? Does someone really expect us to believe that that is supposed to be Spike?" Ed shrugged. "I mean really, first of all, Spike wouldn't ever been so kind as to drop us a line, he wouldn't care if he had any notice of his arrival. He comes and goes as he pleases. And last and most importantly, he's....dead." Faye at times would struggle with that word. It was so final.

"Oh, nooo Faye-Faye!" Ed began typing, "Look, I have found Spike-Person! He IS alive!" Ed sang happily!

"No, he can't be. Why now? Things have finally been getting to normal..." Faye felt faint and dizzy. Fatigue was beginning to take over her body. She felt numb and the world around her was spinning.

She heard Jet call out to her, something about dinner. She ignored him and staggered off into her room. Once there she slammed the door and flopped onto her bed.

Faye was unaware if she was happy, angry or upset of the news of Spike being alive. Of course she was happy to know that he was somewhere, healthy, living, breathing. But on the other hand, things were finally getting somewhere, and she had finally felt as if she had belonged someplace. This was her home now; she didn't want anything to jeopardize that.

Faye heard a small tapping on her door. Ignoring it she kept thinking. 'What if he just comes waltzing back in here and ruins things?' she wanted to cry. Tears were threatening to be shed.

Jet walked in and sat on the edge of Faye's bed. "I heard of the news, Ed told me. Are you all right?" he asked in his most sincere tone.

"Of course I am, I'm just a little surprised that's all," she said while sitting up to look Jet in the eye, trying to fight back the tears.

"Things will work out. If and when he comes, we'll take care of the matter then. For now let's just live how we have been. Ok?"

Faye nodded; she loved how Jet could be so loving. It was surprising sometimes. He looked so rough and mean, and his robotic arm didn't help to make him look all that much more kinder. He was such a sweet man, and Faye trusted him with her life.

"Come on, dinner is ready. Let's go eat." Jet said while standing up ready to leave the room.

As Faye dangled her feet over her bed she asked, "What are we having?"

"Bell peppers and beef. Umm...without the beef." Jet exclaimed with a wave of his hand while exiting Faye's bedroom.

Faye rolled her eyes but smiled to herself. "Of course..." she replied sarcastically, "Never any beef, even when we have bounties."

With that Faye left her room to go enjoy a good meal with her family.

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Author's Note: Ehh!? So, what do ya think!? Is it good? Is it bad? Is it ok? I'm not sure! This is my very first Fanfict! What can I say? I got inspired by all of those wonderful author's out there! :D woot! Anywho, if you like it please review!! I'm very curious as to what you all have to say!! I look forward to it! And if you want to flame me, that's ok too, I really want to know what you all have to say. Oh, and don't worry. I have intended to make this fanfict into a Spike and Faye fanfict. So, all that good stuff will come! And I'm going to keep all the characters in their character, and if I seem to wander away from that, don't hesitate to tell me so. Thanks for reading! Until next time...

Later Space Cowboys....


	2. Unexpected Reaction

First day my fanfict was out and I already got 3 reviews! I'm still in awe! It's amazing! Thanks so much you guys! I'm so happy! :) VERY happy! Anyways, I just wanted to make sure I thanked you all so much! I got so excited I decided to start typing right away. Well, thanks again...and this is for you guys...

Disclaimer: I, in no way have any ownership of Cowboy Bebop. Sadly...

---Wish You Weren't Here---

Faye went to bed early that night. She just wanted to be alone to think by herself. Only hours earlier Ed had informed the Bebop crew that Spike had contacted her and he said "See you soon." What did that mean? Why was he coming back after all this time? And how in the world was he alive? He was supposed to be dead!

Maybe it was an imposter. Spike is dead, and maybe whoever was left from the syndicate wanted his friends onboard the Bebop to parish as well. Leaving the existence of Spike in memory to dissipate, with no one left to remember him.

That's crazy and way too farfetched. That wouldn't happen. Faye shook her head, removing the crazy idea from her mind, 'If anyone from the syndicate wanted us dead, they would have gone running into the Bebop, full force, guns blazing and shooting everything in sight.'

So if it wasn't the syndicate, was it really Spike? Was he coming home? Was the whole world that Faye had come to love going to break apart with the return of one solitary man? Only the future had the answers for that.

As the hours passed and still she was unable to sleep, Faye sat up in bed, sighing. "I wish I had answers. I'm so confused..." Faye rubbed her face and looked at her ceiling. "I need air," Faye stood and walked to her door. She headed for the hanger.

While entering the hanger Faye thought about finding something to occupy her mind so as to keep it off of her current problem, Spike. Maybe head down into the planet that the Bebop currently orbited. She'd easily be able to find something once beyond the planet's atmosphere. Determined she jumped into her Redtail and took off towards the red planet.

As she descended to the planet Mars, she realized that this was his planet. Where _he_ came from. Maybe it wasn't going to be so easy to get her mind off of the cocky jerk. Sighing she neared a city. Its bright lights seemed to attract Faye, and she came across a deserted parking lot.

Parking her Redtail she closed her pod and jumped out. Unsure of where to head to next she just wandered aimlessly. Looking for nothing in particular, she entered the flow of people. The traffic was fast and surprisingly heavy for this time at night. It was nearing two in the morning. Even the alien cities don't stop bustling in the late hours.

Faye came across a brightly lit roadway, where the pedestrian traffic grew. She glanced upwards at the bright, blinking, flashy lights. Across the street was the brightest sign of all, it read "Lucky Star Casino," Faye smiled. She had money now, and she hadn't been gambling for nearly a year. The perfect alternative to worrying. Excitedly she crossed the street, concentrating on one thing, money.

Inside the casino was the familiar noise of coin against coin, and the insistent slot machine binging. Surprisingly the noises calmed Faye's nerves. She had always loved the atmosphere that the casino had provided for her. Before she had come to live in the Bebop, casinos were her home. It's even were she had met him for the first time.

No.

She will not think of him tonight. This was for her, she was supposed to enjoy her night, leave the Bebop and forget about that awful man. Why did he always haunt her? No. Tonight she was going to gamble her heart out.

Faye headed towards the poker tables; she knew this game so well. Poker Alice was back! She sat down, and innocently looked at the young man behind the table. "I'm in," she calmly stated. The man dealt her cards and the game began.

The night was going well; Faye had hardly lost at all tonight. She had lost a couple of times at the slots, but of course that was expected. Tonight she was ahead of her game; never had she had such a great winning streak. It was amazing, finally she felt herself coming back. Her old self, before she came to know and love the Bebop.

Enjoying herself too much, she hadn't realized what time it was. When she finally glanced down to her watch she realized that it was already 8:00 o'clock. Taken aback by the time, Faye decided she should head back to the Bebop. Jet would be up soon, wondering where Faye had gone off to.

Sighing, Faye put one last coin into the machine, pulled the lever and watched. Her eyes moved up and down watching the quickly spinning pictures. Bell. Jackpot. Bell. Ding ding! Faye had won 200 extra coins. Content with the last play, she collected her belongings and headed for the door. She would convert it all into a money card later on, she was planning on returning. Tonight if she was able to.

"Hey there pretty lady," I deep voice spoke from behind. Faye stopped suddenly, her hand on the door handle. She knew this voice. She slowly stood straight, releasing her hand from the handle. Collective and calm, she turned on her toes to face the voice.

With a seductive tone she said, "Well, fancy meet--," she froze. It wasn't who she had expected. It was Spike. Standing there, his hands in his pockets, leaning against a wall, and his cocky smile plastered to his face. Faye's jaw opened, she was staring at the man before her.

Even though he had left a note stating his arrival, she had hardly believed it. But here he was, standing before her, smiling as well. How could he smile? After all he had done to us, he can smile? Unbelievable! Anger slowly rose inside Faye's body. She was furious.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Faye spat. Spike slowly pushed off the wall and began to walk towards Faye. He reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette. His calmness irritated Faye even more.

"Well, not much of a 'welcome back,' huh?" he asked while placing the cigarette to his lips, lighting it. He breathed in the smoke, enjoying its taste.

"What do you expect Spike? You left us all," Faye said, staring crudely into his eyes. She wasn't about to let him win this battle, not after all he has done to her and Bebop crew, especially her.

"I told you, I wanted to see if I was really alive," he said while offering her a cigarette. Taken aback by his kind gesture she didn't respond as quickly.

"I see you lost your bite?" Spike chuckled. He didn't expect Faye to be so startled by his appearance. If anything he expected her to be as stubborn as usual. He almost wished that they would get into their brother-sister-like fights.

Angered with his words, Faye started to walk towards him. Took the offered cigarette and lit it by way of Spike's lit cigarette. "No, I had honestly not expected you to be here, now, of all places." Faye looked down to the floor, she didn't want him to see her emotions.

As Faye looked down, Spike took his opportunity to look over Faye. She had changed, emotionally and physically. He could not only hear it in her voice, but he could see it in her eyes, her appearance. She looked physically drained, and her voice had seemed to loose its once powerful zing. The one that would catch Spike off guard, the one he would argue with for hours. She had seemingly lost it, and Spike had no idea why.

Spike noticed another difference, the loss of her revealing clothes. She now wore something that covered the typical tight fitting yellow jumper. She had always worn that shawl that would drape loosely across Faye's shoulders, but now she wore more to cover herself, to show less skin. Needless she still looked sluttish to Spike, but the clothes surprised him. He had expected things to be the same as he had left them, and he wondered what had changed Faye's way of dressing.

"How's the Bebop?" Spike asked, he truly desired the answer. Faye looked up, stared at Spike in the eyes. She could tell he wanted to know.

"Ed's back, with Ein. Jet and I are fine." She didn't want to give him a lot of information, for fear that he wouldn't want to come and see for himself. Did she want him back?

"Is that all that has happened?" Spike asked reluctantly, obviously things had been happening. Faye even acted a bit sheepish, she had seemingly lost her fire. He could see it in her eyes, it was gone. What lingered now was mere sorrow. Spike wasn't sure if he really wanted to know what else had happened while he left.

"What do you care Spike? You walked out on us all, not caring what we thought or felt. We cared for you Spike, _cared_! Apparently not enough for the feelings to be mutual, huh?" Faye's anger was rising. He stood there acting as if he really cared, he couldn't. If he was alive all this time and had now just bothered to contact the Bebop to tell him of his recovery, obviously the people that loved him on the Bebop weren't his first priority.

"Ah ha! There is some bite left in you Faye!" Spike was grateful to see that she wasn't totally consumed with sadness. She still had her mouth, and that's one thing that actually comforted Spike. He had been through a lot, and to see something that wasn't changed for the worse was nice.

"Fuck you Spike, I don't want to talk to you right now. You're the last person I want to see. Your cocky attitude is too hard to handle," with that said Faye placed her hand back onto the door and began to push the door. Just as her body began to exit the building she felt a strong grip upon her shoulder. She knew it was him, but didn't stop.

Spike tightened his grip on her shoulder and pulled towards himself as to prevent her from going. "Wait," was all that came out.

Surprised, Faye turned around with a huff. "What?" She was truly irritated and wanted to leave the man standing, just as he had done to her once.

Spike stood silently, not speaking. He didn't know what to say. Was he the reason of her change in attitude, clothing and looks? He doubted it, but something was. He wanted to find out what it was.

"Well? I don't have all day Spike," Faye spat, anger taking control. She didn't want to be looking at him.

"Is everyone ok? I mean, since I left?" Spike finally said. Not sure if he regretted allowing some emotion in what he said to her.

Faye slightly surprised to see emotion in his face for but a split second began to wonder if he truly cared. 'Maybe he does,' she said to herself, 'If he had cared, he would have contacted us earlier, he can't.'

Anger once again took over Faye's mind, "Spike if you really want to know, see for your self, I'm not going to sit here and depict everything that has happened since your brave and noble death."

He stood, awed. She didn't answer him, and he had no idea what to say, but he kept his face calm, and even smirked. He had a talent, he could keep his face as calm as he wanted, no matter what was swimming around in his brain.

"Goodbye, Spike," Faye called. She had already left the casino and was walking down the sidewalk, away from the casino, and away from Spike.

Once out of view from the windows, Faye took off at an amazing speed. She ran hard and fast. She knew that once Spike realized she was leaving he'd follow her. Faye glanced back behind her, she couldn't distinguish anything beyond the couple of people behind her. The crowds were still thick. Did this city ever sleep?

Deciding that even if Spike cared he wouldn't follow her, and she soon rejoined the pace set by the flowing crowd. Coming across the area she had first set off her adventure last night she spotted her Redtail. She smiled, she was tired. Glad to go back to the Bebop.

Faye walked over to her Redtail, opened the pod and jumped inside. She slouched back into the seat for a moment and sighed. Hardly believing the incident she had just left behind in the casino. Spike was alive, and he had talked to her. And yet, instead of telling him how glad she was to see him again, she yelled at him. She was hostile, it was hardly the actions she would have imagined herself doing when meeting up with the dead man.

Slightly angered by the way she acted towards him, she sat up, fired up the Redtail, took hold of her controls and headed off to the Bebop.

Faye exited Mars' atmosphere and directed the Redtail in the direction she last saw the Bebop. She knew that it was suspended in the red planet's orbit so it wouldn't be exactly were she had left it.

After mentally figuring out where the Bebop would currently be floating she headed off at a high speed. She was angry, angry about a lot of things, and speeding around seemed like a good plan to her. It helped her fire off her steam.

Suddenly she was interjected by a red object. Surprised by the totally unexpected spacecraft, she came out of her anger flight. She looked around for the mono, but couldn't find it anywhere.

Thinking that she had only made up the image in her mind she sped up and flew on the path she had originally headed for.

Again, the red object flew in front of her Redtail. She knew for sure, she wasn't making this up. Suddenly her mind screamed, "Spike!" She knew it had to have been that menacing man. As if on cue her communicator crackled, and she looked down to see his all too familiar face.

"Hey Faye, I want to talk to you," Spikes face showed a seriousness she had only seen that day he had left her standing in the hanger.

Sighing Faye gave in, "Why don't you just follow me back to the Bebop, we can get better acquainted there. Although, I'm not sure if Jet would even let you in," Faye spat, knowing that it was a lie. Jet would let Spike in with open arms; and she knew that, she just wanted to hurt him.

Surprised that Jet wouldn't let Spike in after all the things they've gone through throughout the past hurt him. Maybe things really had changed. "I don't want to meet you in the Bebop, I want to talk to you, and you alone Faye," Spike stated dryly, he didn't want to fight; he just wanted her to comply.

"Fine, whatever, but I'm going to the Bebop first. You might as well come on board and say 'Hello.' I mean if I just go and tell Jet I'm leaving to go talk to you, he's obviously going to follow me anyways. You might as well go talk to everyone, and then we can go solo," Faye explained to Spike. Fully understanding that once there, Faye and Spike wouldn't be able to get a good valuable moment alone for at least a day or two.

Spike sighed, "Why do you even need to go to the Bebop? Since when do you feel the need to go and tell people where you are and why? Last I knew you came and went as you pleased, not caring if anyone knew where you were headed and when you were planning on coming home."

"Geez Spike, I would have guessed you'd of figured it out by now. Things are different, a lot different from when you left on your brave mission," Faye felt angered again, she didn't want to talk to him, "Can't you tell? Things aren't anything like they were when you left."

"That's what I want to talk to you about Faye," Spike's voice was rising. He was getting irritated by her lack of concern towards him, he was trying, couldn't she tell?

"I don't understand you Spike. You pretend to be dead for nearly a year, why couldn't you come and see us? At least let us know that you were alive?" Faye screeched, staring into her communication device.

She saw Spike back away as she yelled, the volume must have been loud and it hurt his ears. She was happy she hurt him, hardly anything to what she still felt from his departure.

"Faye...you wouldn't understand," Spike breathed, his words were hardly audible. He just needed to talk to Faye alone, he didn't want Jet to know he had made his appearance quite yet.

"Well, try me Spike. You have yet to make me understand, and I have yet to tell you that I don't want to understand. So, tell me something Spike, what's keeping you?" Faye thought that her point was well stated, if he was upset that she didn't understand, why wouldn't he help inform her? Exactly, he couldn't have a reason.

"Damnit Faye! What is so hard with this? Let me talk to you _alone!_ You're making this whole situation more complicated than it needs to be. Fuck the Bebop, fuck Jet! Just come with me, I won't keep you long!" Spike gasped for air, he just yelled at the top of his lungs and he chose to not listen to the voice inside his head when it told him to breathe. His face was visibly red.

Faye couldn't believe that he expected her to drop everything for the man that left them all, for the people that loved her and took care of her when he left her. "Unbelievable! You expect me to choose you over them? That's ridiculous, I will _never_ choose you over them Spike, do you hear me? Never." With that Faye turned off the communicator and screamed on the top of her lungs.

That man knew how to rip every serene nerve that Faye ever had into pieces. He was irritating, ignorant and perhaps the most aggravating part about him, his cockiness. He had a way of waltzing into a room and claiming it as his. It was unnerving.

Her communicator had an incoming call, no doubt it was Spike calling back. She turned it on, "What the hell do you want?" she shrieked at the screen, and then soon regretted it.

It was Ed, now looking hurt, dazed and confused at Faye. The digital picture of her face frowned. "Why are you so angry with Edward?" Ed moped, "Where are you Faye Faye?"

"Eh, sorry Ed. I wasn't expecting it to be you. Don't worry, I'm headed back right now, I'll be there in a few, and I'll explain when I get back okay?" Faye calmed herself, she felt bad for yelling at Ed, but it wasn't entirely her fault, after all, she was caught up in the moment.

"Okee dokee, see you soon Faye Faye!" Ed smiled as the screen went black. Faye set off again towards the Bebop. She didn't even look to see if Spike had left the scene, personally, she didn't care. If he followed her, oh well, if he didn't, even better.

The communicator indicated another incoming call. Unintentionally Faye let the call come through, it was habit, and she'd always allow a call to go through. The way she thought about it, if someone was taking time to call her, it was only right to answer it. They apparently wanted to talk to her for some reason, besides; it was usually Jet or Ed.

"Faye, don't hang up. I want to talk," it was Spike, great... Not exactly what she had thought.

"Make it quick, I'm almost at the Bebop." Faye stated without emotion, she didn't care what he had to say right now.

"Please, allow me to tell you some things, will ya?" Spike pleaded. Wait, Spike never pleaded! What is wrong with this picture? Maybe things hadn't just changed on the Bebop, but also with Spike. No, he was still the same uncaring, cocky asshole she had known before the whole syndicate incident.

Could he have changed as well? It may have been a possibility. After all, he had been gone for nearly a year. And living the life of a "dead" man wasn't easy Faye assumed. Although he was dead once before, when Faye knew him, he'd been proclaimed dead twice now. That man is a cockroach. Impossible to eradicate, it seems.

"Fine Spike, but not now, I'm headed for the Bebop. I already told Ed that I would be there soon," Faye drawled calmly. She honestly didn't care at the moment and was no longer in the mood to battle.

"Do you think Jet would let me in if I followed?" Spike asked curiously. Ha, Spike believed her! Faye smiled, she might have gotten in between the hard surface of Spike's exterior, and gotten to the core. She hurt him, and she triumphed.

"Who knows, I don't know how his brain works," Faye said loosely, waving her hand in the air, as if it were nothing. She now began to wonder whether Jet would or not as well, but she doubted he would deny Spike. "Call the Bebop, ask him yourself, you don't need me,"

Spike sighed loud and long, he seemed dismayed, which, obviously surprised Faye. Come to think about it, Spike had surprised Faye numerous times throughout the morning. First, he showed emotion, even if it were for only a split second, but Faye saw it, and knew that he had masked it quickly. Secondly, he pleaded, Spike has never begged, at least of what Faye had seen. Next, he seemed hurt. By what? Faye was unsure. Lastly, he seemed different, but she was unable to put her finger on his strange behavior. Disregarding the fact that Spike changed, she was interrupted by Spike's banter.

"I...I...Faye, just help me out here," Spike seemed unstable. His face was white, what in the world was so different about him? He still held that cocky attitude but it wasn't as...as strong?

"Fine, I'll call...but you owe me, Spike. You owe me _big_ time," Faye made it perfectly clear that Spike knew that she meant it. He nodded, and Faye cancelled the connection.

Not sure of why she did him the favor, she leaned back and called up the Bebop. Ed answered.

"Hellooooooooooooooooo?" Ed's voice rang throughout the Redtail.

"Ed, get me Jet, I need to talk to him," she said in her "let's talk business" tone. Instantly Ed was gone from the screen and the Bebop was all the filled the tiny box. Ed's voice screaming for Jet was hardly audible because of its faintness.

There was a door shutting and a clinging of some sort and then Jet was in front of Faye, staring at her.

"What's wrong?" Jet's deep coarse voice asked with genuine concern.

Faye was unsure of what to say, 'Hey, I found Spike, he wants onboard, should we let the confident jerk on? Or let him stay stray?' No. That wouldn't do. What to say? Well, no other ideas came to Faye's mind. It'd have to work.

"Well, to make things simple. I came across Spike, Jet. He wants onboard, do we let him?" Faye's voice got quiet, as if someone was listening in on her conversation. Unsure of why she acted that way, she sat up and cleared her throat. "What do you think?" she asked more loudly.

"You saw Spike?" Jet's voice rose in concern, "What did he say? Are you all right?" Jet's attitude surprised Faye, why was he so worried about Faye's safety? It was just Spike after all.

"Jet, it's all right, I'm fine. Calm down," Faye moved her hand up and down to symbolize her telling him to clam down. "So do we let him onboard? He seems different Jet, and he even begged me to ask you. Weird, huh?" Faye's face contorted to show that she honestly felt it to be weird, his behavior was abnormal.

"Tell him I'll allow him onboard under one condition. He mustn't start anything with anybody. If he's going to live here, he must live here as if he was a guest, and he shouldn't take advantage of our hospitality," Faye nodded, approving his regulations.

"Oh, and make sure to tell him that if he wants to stay here, he must help out. Ya know, bounties and such. It's not free meals, make sure he knows that!" Jet completed his orders. "Now tell him, and if he doesn't agree call me back and I won't let him in, all right?"

Faye nodded again, and the connection cancelled. She thought to herself that if Spike wanted to live onboard the Bebop that things were really going to change. Wait, Faye didn't ask Jet if Spike could stay, just visit. How come Jet acted as if he wanted to stay? Jet must have assumed. 

Calling the Swordfish II was something of the past, but Faye hadn't forgotten it. She saw her communicator light up with Spike's face.

"So?" was all Spike said, his face was troubled. "What did he say, Faye?"

"Basically, you can come onboard, as long as you act like a guest. Which means no fights Spike. And if you're staying, you have to contribute to the money making process. You can't just be a parasite, you have to help us," Faye stated, happy to make the calls instead of Spike for a change.

"That's it? I already expected to be back in the bounty hunting," Spike smiled, he knew he could bring money back to the Bebop.

"Oh, don't take advantage of us either Spike. Jet told me to tell you that as well," Faye stated, unsure of how Spike would take advantage of them.

"That's fine. Now guide me to the old piece of junk. Let's go," He zoomed past Faye. The stupid lunkhead had no idea where he was going and yet, he sped ahead of her.

"Lunkhead..." was all Faye said and she disconnected their transmission. It was certainly going to be an interesting time with Spike back in the Bebop. Whether it be good or bad, Faye had no idea.

Soon the Bebop came into view. Faye was so glad to be back, she hadn't realized how tired she truly was. And the new arrival of Spike made Faye want to run away, or lock herself in her room. Either way, she wasn't sure of how any of it was going to turn out.

Faye pulled into the hanger, and Spike followed behind her. She wasn't sure why the whole situation didn't feel weird. It was as if it had been a year earlier and everything was still normal. Although, obviously everything was far from normal.

Faye jumped out of her Redtail and stood staring at the Swordfish II. Spike didn't exit his mono yet, instead he seemed preoccupied with something else. He seemed to be talking into his vid monitor. Strange, who would he be taking to?

Suddenly Ed ran up behind her, "Hello Faye Faye!" Ed sang, and then she got quiet. "Spike-person came back? Wow...." Ed started to wander over to where the Swordfish II was parked.

"Hey Ed, where's Jet?" Faye called after Ed. As Edward walked towards Spike's red mono she called back, "He's talking to someone, I don't know. He said he'd be out in a minute."

Faye wondered, maybe he was talking to one of his ISSP friends about a new bounty. Things would be easier with Spike around, and they'd be able to get harder bounties with the more help.

"Hey there Ed," Faye heard Spike call. The pod was open and Spike was hoping out. He landed on the floor besides Ed.

"Spike-person! Spike-person!" Ed chanted, and suddenly jumped into the air and gave Spike a gigantic hug. "Nice to see you too, Ed," Spike chuckled, truly glad to see her, and ecstatic with the fact that she wasn't mad at him either.

"Thanks for letting me in Faye, I appreciate it," he smiled at her, and Faye just crossed her arms. "Shall we go inside?" Spike asked motioning with his arms.

"Yah.." was all Faye responded with. She wasn't sure if she enjoyed having the man back in her life or if she despised him for it. The one thing she never understood was why he wouldn't have came back if he was alive all this time, and quite honestly, that's what hurt Faye the most.

"I still want to talk to you, alone Faye," Spike said as they began walking inside. His tone of voice was much quieter and showed remorse.

"What about exactly?" She was curious as to why he kept insisting that they should talk alone. Ed ran ahead, screaming for Ein.

"About a lot of things, nothing in particular." Faye shrugged, it certainly didn't answer her question. He had to have been hiding something.

As they entered they saw Jet exit his bonsai tree room, he glanced at Spike and gave him a warning look and then smiled, "Hey Spike! You look good, it's about time you show your face around here," he walked over to Spike and gave him a slap on the back. Spike noticeably winced. Jet was the only one that caught it; Faye had left them to talk amongst themselves. She was tired and decided she needed to sleep it all off. The reappearance of Spike was something she had hardly expected.

Faye smiled as she threw herself onto her bed. Spike was back, and alive! She was excited. Things that she never thought she would be able to tell him, she could now tell him. Everything, about how she felt when he gone, and how she wished him to come back. How she went to the site of his death to see if she could find his body, but when she couldn't find it she received hope, hope that he would live. And when he never returned how she felt udder despair and hopelessness. When Spike left, Faye realized something, she cared for Spike, and she was overwhelmed with fear that she would have never been able to care for Spike while he lived.

Now he was back, now she could unload her bottled up emotions. She could tell him her deepest secrets. But would Spike care? Did he care? He certainly wouldn't care for Faye back; he loved Julia, not Faye. Terror took over Faye's form. What was she to do? Tell him? Or ignore her feelings?

The stress of the situation tired Faye even more. Her eyes began to droop and she eventually fell into a soundless sleep, consumed with dreams that held more emotion than her present life possessed.

Faye awoke to a gentle hand on her shoulder, it was attempting to wake Faye. She slowly opened her eyes to see Spike looming over her. "Hey there Romani, time for our hardy Jet-made dinner," Spike stated with feigned excitement.

Faye lazily rose from her bed, she was still tired. Actually, she felt even more tired than she did before she had fallen asleep. She held her head with the palm of her hand. She had received a headache, a nasty one. She wanted to roll over and fall back into a million year sleep.

Faye moaned, and tried standing up, but to no avail she fell back to where she had sat previously. Spike chuckled, "Have you been drinking?" he asked jokingly.

Faye shook her head no, she hadn't. She had no idea what was wrong with her, she felt as if she had a horrible hangover.

Spike leaned close and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. Surprising Faye, she recoiled from Spike's touch. "Wait," Spike said, looking concerned. He reached forward again and touched his hand to her forehead, while Faye stared at him with alarmed eyes. He was being thoughtful, not a Spike characteristic. 

"You're burning up Faye. Are you sick?" he asked calmly. Faye shook her head no, and shuddered. She instantly felt cold when Spike took his warm hand away from her head.

"Are you hungry at all? I can bring you some food if you want," Spike being nice? Something was not right here, maybe he was just sucking up under Jet's new conditions.

"Not really, no," was all Faye could muster up, her voice was faint and hardly audible. Spike smiled, "Sleep Faye." Faye knew he was right, she felt horrible.

She flopped back onto her pillow and turned to the side. She instantly curled into a ball. She was freezing. Faye had then heard Spike's slow footsteps leave her room as she attempted to slowly drift off to sleep.

Just as she was about to fall into her sleep, she felt something fall over her. She instantly turned her head to see who had come in. It was Spike, and he took a blanket from the far side of her room, and had laid it over her. Faye's eyes stared open in astonishment.

"You looked cold," was all Spike could say, his face showing a side Faye had never seen. Faye nodded and rolled back over, her head was killing her. This time she heard her door close behind Spike's light footsteps, and soon sleep consumed her once again.

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Author's Note: Muahhahaha! What do you think? Good? I hope so! I got so happy that I received reviews from people I started typing as soon as possible. I hope everyone likes this story! And if you don't, go ahead and flame me, as long as you review! :) Reviews are wonderful. Anyways, I decided that my first chapter was really short, so I made this one considerably longer, as you can tell. I think this will be the normal length from now on, looks good to me! Ohh, well...hope you all enjoyed! I know I did! Thanks again, and REVIEW!!!

--CindyLoo

Later Space Cowboys...


	3. Surprise Awakening

Wow! Talk about making my day…I got so many reviews after I sent out my second chapter! I'm so happy! People like this story! Yippee! - Anyways..I decided to start a typin'! Oh, btw…I know that Spike is OCC at the moment..but that's why I'm making Faye super surprised that he's acting this way. And if Spike and Faye EVER have their little conversation, I hope to inform all you lovely, nice (reviewing :D) people out there the answers! Wow, I'm just happy people are reviewing! THANKS GUYS! Ok, on to the story!

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned Cowboy Bebop!

-Wish You Weren't Here-

When Faye awoke it was night, she glanced at her clock and it read 3:49. She slowly sat up in bed, and quickly regretted it. Her head was in horrible pain, what was wrong with her? Why did her head hurt so badly? She had no idea, but the only thing that answered her was her stomach. It growled, she hadn't eaten anything for awhile. She left the Bebop nearly 24 hours ago, and returned before 9. She had slept an awfully long time. She wondered if that was normal.

Curious if anyone had left her any food, she stood up from her bed slowly, wincing the entire time. She held her forehead with her hand, thinking it could help. It didn't. She staggered out of her room, and then entered the living space. The TV was on, and she strained to look in its direction. The lights were off in the Bebop, and the bright light of the TV hurt Faye's head more than anything else.

She moaned, and looked away fast. She didn't know if anyone was watching it, nor did she care. She was on a mission, a mission for food, and then eating it quickly and headed back to sleep as fast as possible.

Sleep sounded good to Faye, when she slept she couldn't feel the horrible pain she was feeling now. And with each step she seemed to be getting dizzier and dizzier.

Entering the kitchen she headed for the refrigerator. Upon opening, the light made Faye wince in pain, the light was too bright, it stung her eyes.

With squinted eyes she began to rummage quickly throughout the fridge. She found something that didn't look old, and she didn't care if it was. She took it out and placed it on the table and began to eat it, quickly.

Unknown to Faye, there was someone watching her. It was Spike, he had been lying across the yellow couch sleeping, but awoke with Faye's staggering steps. He came up behind her and said quietly, "How ya feeling?"

Faye spun around, totally oblivious to the fact that fast movements would hurt her head. She let out a small whimper, and closed her eyes. Spike heard it and shook his head, "Not any better I guess," he said while walking back into the living room.

Before sitting onto the couch he said, "I hope you aren't faking this sickness so that we can't talk. If you are, that's low Faye… even for you."

Faye's anger rose, she did not make low hits like he did. But fighting with Spike would have to come another day, she wasn't nearly in the mood for it.

She finished eating and headed back for her room. The dizziness she felt became more sudden, she had to close her eyes to stop seeing her surroundings turn and twirl around her. She opened her eyes to see where she was going, and she felt light headed.

Suddenly she fell to the floor, and she was beginning to have trouble with breathing. She gasped for air and clung at her chest. She couldn't breathe. What in the world was happening to her? Was she going to die?

The already dim lit Bebop was becoming darker by the second. Faye panicked. She couldn't breathe and she began to loose her eyesight. What was wrong with her? She didn't know what to do. She stood up and tried to walk to the countertop. She failed and once again collapsed to the floor.

Faye stared at the ceiling as her eyesight slowly diminished. She lay unconscious on the floor. Her last thought being, "Oh God, I don't want to die."

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Faye awoke to see bright florescent lights above her. They were foreign; she hadn't seen those lights around the Bebop. She turned her head to the side to see that she was in a room, and Jet was sleeping on a chair. The way he sat he didn't look very comfortable. Then she thought, she must be in a hospital. Faye hated hospitals, she still hadn't managed to relieve herself of the debts she had from her last hospital visit. Many, many years ago.

She then noticed her head was feeling better, but the pain still lingered. It hurt when she would move her head too fast, or when the bright lights caught her eyes. She still winced, but it wasn't too painful. She'd felt worse pains in her lifetime.

Then she remembered that before she must have passed out, and that she lost her ability to see and breathe. She seemed to be able to see fine now, with the exception that it would hurt her head, but she could see.

Faye took in a large breathe of air, she exhaled but began to go into a coughing fit. Well, she could certainly breathe, Good signs she guessed.

The coughing must have awoken Jet, because he was staring at her with wide eyes. She wondered why his face looked so surprised.

He opened his mouth so as to say something, but nothing seemed to come out. Faye stared with wondering eyes, what could be wrong with her? "What's with the odd look, Jet?" Faye asked, thinking that she may not even want to know.

"Well, uh, well… The doctors…well, they had said…um.." Jet sputtered, Faye eyed him curiously. What was with Jet, he always had a way with words.

"Come on Jet, just spit it out. It can't be that bad," Faye stated, but she knew better. It had to be somewhat bad; she was in a hospital for heaven's sake. Which reminded her, why didn't she ask him why she was here exactly?

"You see, the doctors… They said that you wouldn't wake up, well, at least for a real long time. You had gone into a..a…" Jet stumbled on his words some more, obviously shocked about what he was saying.

Faye finished his sentence, "a coma." It was more of a statement rather than a question. "What happened to me Jet? I want to know."

"Well, I'm not sure I understand all of it, but basically you must have gotten sick somehow Faye. Sick with something big. You had an incredibly high fever, and it hurt you. I don't know if you know, but high fevers kill brain cells, and proteins. Faye you could have died if Spike hadn't found you in time and brought you here. I guess it's been going around, they were prepared to treat you, luckily. But unfortunately you're brain had already been affected. I wasn't expecting you to be awake for another two weeks or so, that is at the earliest. Faye, Spike saved you." Jet finally spoke. Faye stared at him for a few minutes, awed by what she was told.

After the initial shock wore off Faye finally spoke, "Am I going to be all right? I mean, it's not going to effect me for the rest of my life, right Jet?" Faye asked sheepishly as she stared at her sheets and twisted them in her fingers.

"That I don't know, but I'm sure it's a good sign that you're awake ahead of schedule. I should probably get your doctor, he could tell us. Besides, I'm sure they'll be happy to know that you're awake." Jet said while getting up, and heading for the door.

"Jet…" Faye whispered toward the door. Jet turned around and raised an eyebrow telling her to continue. "Where's Spike? Ed?" Faye asked, really wondering wear Spike was, she wanted to thank him.

Jet looked kindly towards Faye, "He's at the Bebop, with Ed and Ein, he brought you in, and called for me, and he went back to the ship."

Faye nodded as Jet smiled and turned around. Faye watched him exit the door, and began to wonder about her newest condition.

She began to think about how she was going to be affected by this. She already had been in a coma and had forgotten her memory. She was thankful to see that it hadn't been taken away from her this time as well. But then again, she was in the coma for a much longer time than she was this time. Or was she?

She was never told by Jet how long she was out. What if it had been weeks? Even months! Certainly not years! If it had been that long Jet would have told her, wouldn't he have?

Now Faye's nerves began to go crazy, she felt herself tense. She couldn't have been out for so long. No, of course not. Faye could hear the beeping of the machine attached to her arm begin to beep more rapidly. She knew it was the beating of her heart, and she thought it best to calm down.

So she began to look around the room and noticed some flowers on a night stand next to her. Who would have gotten her those? She wondered, must have been Jet, he's so thoughtful.

Then she felt herself become sleepier as she laid back in her bed and stared at the ceiling. Even though she had only been up for a matter of 10 minutes, sleep sounded good to her. She was tired. And she began to close her eyes.

As sleep slowly took over Faye, she heard the door to her room open and the footsteps of someone walking in. She wanted to see who it was, but her eye lids were much too heavy. Besides, she assumed it was Jet and the doctor.

"Hey there, Romani." It was Spikes voice! What was he doing here? She heard him walk over to her bed, and sit down in the chair Jet had occupied earlier. He sighed, and she could hear him move uncomfortably in the chair.

Faye opened her eyes and looked at him. He had himself lying sideways on the chair so that his legs swung over the arm rest and his head was resting on his crossed arms. He stared at the ceiling with no purpose it seemed.

She felt a coughing sensation begin to tickle her throat. She let out a little suppressed cough and covered her mouth. Spike heard it and he quickly spun his head around and stared at Faye with wide eyes.

"Hey, Gorgio," Faye said through her smiling lips. She thought it to be funny to see Spike with the look he was giving. Never had she seen him show such an emotion with such great strength. He looked so surprised, it made Faye laugh.

"What? Surprised to see me awake? Or disappointed?" Faye suppressed more coughs as she asked him. He didn't say anything, just stared, but the surprise was gone from his face. He had successfully hidden it from view.

Spike opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when Jet and the doctor came back into the room. Both pairs of eyes were drawn to the door.

The doctor was a short man, with graying hair. He had a thick beard that was white, and short. He had a large stomach that reminded Faye of Santa Claus' and when he talked it even shook like the fables suggested.

"Finally awake I see! How are you feeling sweet pea?" the doctor asked while walking towards Faye's bed. "I'm your doctor. You can call me Doc. Klark. So tell me sweetie, are you feeling ok?"

Faye nodded her head towards the doctor and answered, "I keep coughing though, and I can't stop them from coming." Faye said managing to suppress more coughs that threatened to come out.

"Oh don't worry hunny, they'll stop soon enough. I am sure of that. If they don't, make sure to let me know. I'd say you'll be good as new before a month goes by. You'll be back on your feet making men faint and their hearts flutter. Good as new, eh?" The doctor stated while laughing.

Faye watched the doctor's stomach jiggle as she prevented a cough from coming up and laughed as well. She glanced at Spike and noticed him rolling his eyes in response to what the doctor had said.

"So when will I be able to get out of here? Any time soon?" Faye asked, she hated hospitals, everything about them irritated her. The smell, the noise, the atmosphere, guests were always depressed when in hospitals. After all, what is there to be happy for? Someone you know is sick or dying, not much to be ecstatic about.

"Well, I'm going to have you stay here for at least one more night, make sure you're doing fine, and how you're recovering. If all is well tomorrow morning, you're free to leave here." Doc. Klark said as he checked Faye's information that was displayed on the screen. "You look really good right now, good signs….all of them."

"So, what happened to me? Am I going to be affected by this for the rest of my life?" Faye asked frantically, she wasn't being informed about any of what has happened to her. She wanted to know. "Also, how long was I out for?" Faye asked her voice just above a whisper. She stared blankly at the white sheet that was covering her.

"Well, to put it in a simplified way, you were affected by a new sickness that attacks your immune system. It then reacts in a way that creates an increasingly high fever. Sweetie, when you've got a high fever its bad for your body. It can actually do some permanent damage. Luckily this little hero over here," the doctor stated while pointing at Spike, who seemed as if he was hardly paying any attention at all, "saved you. He brought you here in time. You should be fine, no real harm done, that I can assure you of."

Faye stared at the doctor blankly, how in the world could she have gotten something like this? Its mind boggling in a way that Faye hardly understood.

"And to answer your last question, you were out for nearly two weeks. Tomorrow, it would have been two weeks on the dot. We estimated you to be out for anytime between one to three months. It was average for most cases caught so early, but as I had said before, you've been extremely lucky. One, being the fact that you were brought here early, and two it was detected fast enough and you got help. You'll be 100 percent better in no time at all," the doctor stated while finishing up writing in a clip board he got from the end of her bed. The entire time he spoke to her, he went about completing his job, checking her stats and writing things down.

'I suppose you need to be able to multi-task when you're a doctor,' Faye thought to herself.

"And if you don't mind, I believe I'll be heading off to some other places I'm needed in. If you need anything, anything at all Miss Valentine, don't hesitate to press that button and call for a nurse, ok?' Doctor Klark asked while pointing at a button that was on a remote positioned adjacent to Faye's bed.

Faye's eyesight moved from the doctor, to the nurse's button and back to the doctor who stood before her. She nodded her head slightly to acknowledge that she understood the doctor's instructions. "Gotcha doc," Faye said blankly.

"Sounds good, off I go then. Remember, if you need _anything_, don't hesitate with that button over there," the doctor said, once again pointing at the nurse's button, and began to head to the door. He waved his hand to the Bebop crew and left the room.

The room fell silent. No one talked and no one moved. To Faye the silence was unbearable, it was uncomfortable. The awkwardness was overwhelming, and she needed to break it, but she was unsure what to say.

Lucky for Faye, she didn't need to cut the silence, Jet did that for her. "Well, I'm going to go get the paperwork you're going to have to fill out tomorrow. That way you can get yourself a head start on it all," Jet said to Faye.

Faye looked up from the white sheet and stared at Jet. She nodded her head, and Jet smiled in response. He glared toward Spike and left the room, whistling.

Faye's eyes dropped back down to her sheets, she felt more uncomfortable now that it was just she and Spike. She quickly shifted her eyes over to Spike. He sat just as he had when she first gazed upon him. His legs were flung over the armrests while he rested his head on his crossed arms.

He must have noticed Faye watching him from the corner of his eye, because he turned his head and gave her a quizzical look. She quickly snapped her eyes away from Spike's face, and returned her gaze on her sheets. She wasn't sure exactly why she was acting so shy towards Spike, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't look at him, even talk to him.

"So, how are you feeling?" Spike asked Faye. He could tell something was bothering her, but he assumed it was just the fact that she just woke up in a hospital. She had a lot of information to take in, and it must be hard to swallow it all.

"Well, kind of shocked I guess, I mean…" Faye's voice faded, but Spike knew what she meant. Faye was still staring at her sheets, she still couldn't look him in the eyes, "Thanks," she spoke softly to Spike.

Faye heard rustling from the corner of the room where Spike sat, and then she felt her bed lower on the side. Startled Faye's head shot up and she met Spike's gaze. The fast movement hurt, and she grabbed her head and closed her eyes. At that moment Faye couldn't prevent the coughs from escaping anymore and she went into a coughing fit.

Unable to breathe because of the incessant coughing Faye's face turned a light blue. After a few seconds, it began to stifle. She regained her color and began to breathe again. She took in huge gasps of air, filling her lungs to replace the air she lacked earlier.

As she finally became normal once again she glanced towards Spike whose face resembled concern. He stared at her with wide eyes, "You all right?" he asked her with worry in his voice.

Faye stared at him, she wasn't sure if she was more surprised and taken aback by what just happened to her, or that Spike cared. She nodded her head in response, she wasn't sure if she should speak, it might cause another coughing spell.

"Geez, Faye…" was all Spike could manage to get out. He hadn't seen anyone scare him like that before by not breathing. It was shocking.

Jet walked back into the room with all the essential papers that Faye would need the next morning. He tossed the papers on Faye's lap and spoke roughly, "Here ya go kiddo. All you've got to do is fill 'em out and you'll be all set to come back to the ship tomorrow morning."

Faye looked down at the pile of papers strewn across the sheets. She sighed, but she knew that all she had to do was fill them out and she'd be happily home in a matter of hours. She wanted to be at home again in the metal ship she called her home.

Spike laughed slightly, but caught himself. He was smirking now, he looked at Faye's face when Jet dropped the papers on her lap. She looked as if she could be pushed over by the slightest wind. It was rather amusing to him, even though he knew he shouldn't be amused. Faye had been through a lot, and laughing at her now would be cruel, even he knew that.

Faye sat up to look over the papers, she sifted through some and skimmed over others. She knew she should probably fill them all out now so that she wouldn't have to do it in the morning. Even if she got it done tonight she would be able to leave earlier in the morning tomorrow, which excited her. She wanted to leave this place as fast as possible.

Skimming over them she noticed the questions of her birth date and her parents' names. This was going to need some explaining to the hospital staff. Faye sighed once again and picked up the stack of papers and placed them neatly on the table beside her bed. She would get started after things sunk into her mind.

"Well, I suppose we'll leave you be Faye, to get everything worked out. I'll be sure to come by and get you before they allow you to leave in the morning," Jet said while motioning towards the door.

Faye nodded and looked up at Jet, he was surprised to see a slight hint of tears threatening to be shed. He ignored it and smiled. His eyes then moved from Faye to Spike.

Spike seemed to notice the older man's eyes on him and glanced toward him. Jet nodded toward the door and Spike obeyed silently. Spike began walking toward the door along with Jet. Before Jet shut the door once again, he looked back while standing in the doorway.

Faye lay in her bed with the papers back on her lap. She began to write, Jet shut the door and walked out of the hospital, and into his Hammerhead. He then took off towards the Bebop.

---------------------------------------------

The next morning Jet entered the hospital and walked to the receptionist desk. He placed his hands on the counter and leaned in, he asked the woman calmly if Faye Valentine was ready and on the out patient list.

The nurse behind the counter nodded and began to sift through papers and drawers. She finally emerged with a folder in hand which she opened in front of Jet. She then pulled out a paper, skimmed over it with her finger running along where she read. She then closed the folder, and placed it back where she found it.

The nurse looked up at Jet and smiled, "She should be ready in a few moments sir, you can have a seat and I will call you when she is ready." Jet nodded and began to walk towards the empty waiting room. The nurse continued typing on a computer that was placed next to her.

Five minutes went by with no noise in the hospital except for the quiet typing of the nurse's keyboard. For some reason the quiet was unnerving to Jet, he enjoyed the noise that Ed and Ein brought to the Bebop, and quiet was something rare at times.

"Sir! Excuse me, sir!" Jet broke out of his daze; the nurse had been calling him. He apologized and rose to where the receptionist was sitting. "She's already sir, just head down to her room, the doctor is waiting for you," the nurse exclaimed with a fake smile plastered to her pale face.

Jet walked down the long hallway, he knew where he was headed, but it seemed to take forever to get there. Once there he opened the door slowly, he wasn't sure if he should have knocked or not, but it was too late, he had the door open. There was Faye, standing up, but visibly unstable, she teetered as she walked, and staggered as she tried to regain balance. The doctor was holding her elbow, trying to help her walk.

Upon seeing Jet's entrance, Faye fell once more, but the doctor caught her. "She's a bit wobbly at the moment, just gave her some medication. The affects should wear off soon, but you're going to have to watch her. She might fall over and hurt herself," the doctor stated while helping Faye across the room.

Jet just watched as the doctor assisted Faye over to their destination; a wheelchair. Once there, he made sure that Faye was rightly comfortable in the chair, she nodded her head. "She's all set Mr. Black. She'll be good as new in no time. Won't ya be sweet pea?" the doctor asked Faye in a sincere tone. Faye again, nodded in response.

The doctor turned the wheelchair around so that Faye now faced Jet. He examined Faye's face, she seemed to look healthier, and her face had more color to it. He smiled at her, and she smiled back and it seemed to be genuine to Jet.

The doctor walked over and explained to Jet that she would need to take medicines at certain times and when she ate. Jet agreed and took the medications in placed them in his pockets.

Soon after, Doctor Klark said his goodbyes and wished Faye a happy recovery. He then departed from the room. Jet then began to push Faye out to his Hammerhead. Neither spoke the entire time. Jet wondered how he'd be able to get Faue into his ship if she was so unstable, but he knew he'd manage it somehow, even if he'd have to pick her up.

"Thanks Jet," Faye let out quietly. Jet stopped walking; he was surprised by her hushed voice. He smiled to himself, and began walking again, reaching his ship.

"No problem, it's what I'm here for," Jet explained while stopping beside his mono. He sighed, unsure about how he'd get her inside.

"I'll get in, don't worry," Faye exclaimed while trying to lift herself from the wheelchair she sat in. Jet shook his head and placed his palm to his forehead. Her stubbornness was too much sometimes.

"Listen, Faye. You're not as you should be, sit down. I can take care of it. Let someone do something for you for once. Stop being so strong," Faye was silent with Jet's sudden outburst. She knew he was right, but she hated feeling so helpless.

Faye sighed again, Jet smiled. He knew he'd won the battle. Besides, there was no way Faye had the energy to lift herself nor fight back.

"Here, let me help," Jet said while grabbing onto Faye. He wasn't sure exactly, but he managed to get Faye inside the Hammerhead with ease. Then he, himself jumped in as well.

Soon, the two were off towards the Bebop. Faye Valentine was never so happy to return to the old fishing ship.

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Author's Note: Well, it's about time I wrote this thing! I'm sorry everyone! I've been SO busy with college stuff and work. I've been way over my head these last few weeks. But good news everyone! I've finally gotten all of my college applications out, and work is going just fine! Haha! Cause I knew you all wanted to know. Anyways, enough about me. I hope you liked this chapter, I don't know why, but I wasn't a huge fan of it. I wasn't proud of it. But I know where I'm going with this…and I hope you all like it!! And thank you everyone who have been writing me reviews! I thank you so much! I love reviews!!! You guys are so awesome! Well, thanks again! And until next time…

Later Space Cowboys…


	4. Stunning Revelation

Hello everyone! I'm sorry this has taken soooo long, but I've had to fight off some horrible writer's block, not to mention it's the busiest time of the year! Yipe! School has to be so relentless on me as well! Evil senior year!! Haha, well hey…here's the chapter you've been waiting for! Haha, at least I hope so..I didn't get many reviews last chappie..but I'm hoping that it's just because it sucked..ehh..well I hope this comes out better. Happy reading!

---Wish You Weren't Here---

"Faye-Faye!" Ed chirped from behind the yellow couch.

Faye raised an eyebrow without removing her eyes from the TV screen, she had been watching Big Shot to see the latest bounties. "Hmm? What is it Ed?" Faye asked, unconcerned.

"Edward has been researching your illness Faye-Faye!!" Ed sang while getting up and walking over to Faye on the couch. She had her Tomato balanced on her head, and her goggles strapped securely across her eyes.

"Find anything?" She asked, truly uninterested in any of what Ed might have to say.

"Ooooo! Very interesting. So very, very interesting!" Ed squealed, falling to the floor, chasing Ein.

Capturing a bit of Faye's attention, she glanced at Ed. "Really? What's so interesting about it?" Faye inquired, not sure if she should get over excited about anything.

"It's human made! A virus made by a spooky ookey human! Freeeaaaakky!" Ed exclaimed in an artificial deep voice.

"What?" questioned a male voice. Faye turned around. Spike was standing in the doorway, leaning his body against the door frame. He had been listening in on their conversation. "I didn't catch all that," Spike finished.

"Why worry? It's not like it has anything to do with you," Faye countered, thoroughly angry that he was listening in on something that was far from his business.

Ed looked confused and Faye knew why. If she were to repeat herself she would risk Faye getting angry with her, but if she didn't then Spike might get upset.

"Spooooooky Oooookey man!" Ed shrieked, and then ran after Ein on all fours.

Spike then pushed his body off the wall, and focused his sights on Faye. She looked pissed, and he knew that, but he'd been meaning to talk to her for awhile now, and since Jet was out at the moment he took the opportunity to speak with her.

As Spike began to walk closer to the couch, Faye averted her gaze back to the TV, she tried to take up as much space as possible on the couch. She didn't want him sitting down next to her, she wasn't in the mood to talk with him.

"Don't try to get away this time, I'm going to talk to you," Spike said. His attitude was so unnerving! Damn his cockiness.

"You can't tell me what I can or cannot do Spike Spiegel!" Faye spat angrily towards Spike as he managed to sit down next to her. Faye instantly shrunk to the farthest corner of the couch to get away from being too close to Spike.

"Stubborn as ever…" Spike sighed, slightly grateful to see that some things didn't change in his absence.

Faye sighed, "What do you want Spike?" She answered coldly. She had been avoiding him since she had returned from the hospital.

"I told you, I wanted to talk with you, and I'm going to do that now," Spike repeated. His voice showed a tinge of annoyance.

"Well just get it over with!" Faye shot. She crossed her arms and turned towards the man sitting beside her.

"Well, I wanted to ask you a question…" Spike started. He looked directly into Faye's eyes, hard and cold. He wanted to know how Faye would react to his question.

Faye raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.

"Why did you try to stop me that day...the day...I tried leaving here?" Spike finally asked. He looked as Faye's face grew red, and her face contorted in anger.

"What!? Are you honestly asking me this Spike?" Faye asked, fumed with anger.

"What?" Spike asked, truly not understanding.

"Spike how can you be so selfish!?" Faye shrieked. "You once told me that the past was past, not to dwell on it. Then you go off, fighting for your past? Was I supposed to be happy? You're a damn hypocrite Spike, a hypocrite!"

Spike thought, she was right, he did say that to her once. "That's it? The only reason you were mad?" Big mistake.

Faye stood up, she balled her hands into fists, anger taking over. "Did you honestly think that Jet was the only thing keeping us together Spike? Did you think we'd all be fine and dandy once you left? We broke apart without you Spike, life was hard. We sat and waited and waited for you. We knew you'd be back, you always came back, like a wounded dog, but you didn't this time, and believe it or not…we were hurt, hurt!"

Spike just sat on the couch looking up at her. He didn't know what to say. Besides, she was on a yelling rampage; he didn't have an opportunity to place his say.

"After you died, I left the Bebop. Many times, but I always seemed to come back. Believe it or not, I actually searched for you, thinking you were alive somewhere, smoking at some sleazy bar. I never found you Spike, and I regretted wasting my life to look for a lowlife like you."

"Why are you so pissed at me Faye? I did nothing wrong, it was my life. I went to see if I was actually alive! The past haunted me, I never had a day where I didn't think of it. I'm sorry if my death ruined your life, but you see it wasn't ever my concern what you felt or how you and Jet would feel after I left. It never even crossed my mind until after it all happened." Spike stood up to meet Faye's gaze. Her expression altered, her face still held its anger but her eyes showed pain.

"You're a heartless man Spike!" Faye exclaimed in anger.

Spike smirked and laughed coolly, "Faye, I don't---," He was cut short by Faye's sudden departure. She had screamed his name and immediately stumbled backwards and then turned around and scrambled into her room, slamming the door shut.

Faye had left Spike with a slightly perplexed expression on his face. He sighed, and slumped down onto the couch. He then propped his feet onto the table in front of him and began to flip through the channels on the television.

"Uhh ohhhs!" Ed exclaimed looking in the direction Faye had left.

Spike looked over at her, she was sitting in front of her Tomato apparently mid-type. She must have heard the entire conversation he and Faye just had. "Ya know Ed, I'm curious…What was that you were telling Faye?"

"Ooooo!" Ed looked at Spike through goggle covered eyes. "A spooky ookey man created Faye Faye's virus!" Ed chanted, once again using her abnormally low voice.

"Do me a favor Ed, do some more research on that virus, will ya?" Spike asked, still staring at the TV.

"Aye aye!" Ed saluted and then began typing once again.

------------------------------------------

Jet returned near the end of the battle, he saw Faye's staggering steps into her room and heard the slamming of her door. He sighed, those two will never get along it seems.

He followed the sound of the television and saw the scene before him. Spike sat in his usual position on the yellow couch; feet thrown up on the table, laid back and comfortable. Ed on the other hand, sat behind the couch, her hands typing wildly on her Tomato.

"You two really can't get along for a minute can you?" Jet asked.

"What? I get blamed for it? I just tried asking her a question! She's the one that got all upset about it, it's not my problem," Spike threw his hands up in defense.

Jet sighed and sunk his head down in defeat. "When's dinner going to be ready?"

"What?" Spike asked extremely confused.

"Well, Faye cooks quite often around here. She told me she'd cook tonight." Jet answered while sitting down next to him.

"Really? That's unheard of, must taste really horrible huh?" Spike stated jokingly, while laughing full-heartedly.

"Well, actually…she's real good. Her food tastes great; I have to admit I didn't expect it from her." Jet explained to a fully surprised Spike.

"Wow, the shrew woman has a talent after all!" Spike joked, a smile clearly written across his face.

"Yeah, I suppose she does," answered Jet approvingly.

Spike and Jet laughed for a brief moment and then both stared at the television and watched as a new bounty face appeared on the screen. Judy and Punch described the man.

"Here we are Punch! A new bounty! He looks cute doesn't he?" Judy exclaimed, looking at the picture of the man, whose face bore a scar. He had dark grey eyes, and black wavy hair.

"This man here has as 1.2 million woolong bounty on his head!" Punch exclaimed while twisting his fake gun around his finger.

"Ooooo! What'd he do Punch!?" Judy inquired, still staring at the man in the picture.

"You see, this man here is a hacker! He's been known to start up the ancient disease manufacturing company on Mars." Punch explained to Judy.

Judy quickly added, "Oh, and he has even been known to sell fake mushrooms, and bloody eye. Can't even get the real stuff?"

"Not a big bounty, but for any of you willing to get your hands on just a little money, he's out there!" Punch shrieked at the screen.

"This show never has any useful information," Spike stated dryly while changing the channel.

Jet smirked, he was right after all. "Well, I'm going to go ask Faye if she wants me to make dinner tonight instead," Jet explained as he stood up from the couch. Spike didn't show any emotion, apparently too engrossed into what he was watching to see Jet leave.

Jet walked over to Faye's door and knocked quietly. He waited for a response but got none. He sighed, "Faye? Faye, it's me. Do you want me to make dinner tonight?" No response. "All right, I'll get you when it's ready," Jet shouted through the door while walking away.

'He really must have upset her this time, she's never ignored me,' Jet thought to himself as he created a brand new concoction for dinner. The smell must have lured Spike away from his precious TV because he came in asking what was for dinner.

"Why'd you have to go and piss her off again Spike?" Jet asked in a concern tone.

"Whoa! I just wanted to know what was for dinner, I didn't know we'd have to talk about her, 'cause if that was the case, I wouldn't have bothered coming in here," Spike retorted back to Jet.

"Well, incase you were oblivious to everything around you, we were getting along perfectly before you joined us here. Faye isn't the person you left; she doesn't just scrounge like you may have remembered her doing. Actually, she did a lot of the money making around here, I owe her a lot. So there is no way I'm going to stand by and watch you destroy her again Spike," Jet spat back.

Spike's surprise was written clearly across his face, he had never heard Jet speak to him that way before, let alone defend Faye. "Ok Jet, I didn't come here to cause problems for any of you, I thought I would have been welcomed back. I guess not, and how in the world am I hurting Faye 'again'?" Spike asked angrily. He didn't expect to start any fights that weren't out of the ordinary with Faye, just like the old arguments that he and her once had in the past.

"Spike you are welcomed here, but I'm not going to allow you to come onboard and cause a problem for anyone on this ship. That includes Faye, she stayed when times were rough, she is now ahead of you Spike," Jet replied, facing back towards the food he was cooking.

"Well, you failed to answer my question about how I hurt her again Jet," Spike spat while lighting a cigarette and putting it to his lips.

"Are you really the oblivious Spike? She was hurt when you left. Heck! We all were! Faye took it the hardest though, she left so many times, I was worried she'd never come back, but she always did. I'm not sure what she did when she left, but she always came back more upset then she was when she left," Jet stated while getting plates to put the food on.

"Ha, the shrew woman was upset? Didn't even think she had emotions," Spike responded coolly.

"Spike---," Jet started to say but was cut off suddenly.

"Why do you all have to talk about me behind my back? If you're going to talk shit, say it to my face! You never know who's listening!" Faye screamed angrily towards the two men who both bore surprised expressions across their faces.

"Faye, now listen!" Jet started to say, but Faye turned and left. Both men were silent as they listened to her receding steps, and then the final slam of the door.

Jet sighed heavily, "Geez Spike, now look what's happened," Jet stated while turning around and looking back to his food.

Spike took the cigarette out of his mouth, "Oh! I suppose you're going to blame this on me as well?"

"What? Spike, don't jump to conclusions, I don't need your assumptions--," Jet began, but once again got cut off.

"Forget it Jet, I'll make it easier for you…" Spike stated while leaving the room over-dramatically.

Jet sighed again, he placed his plate on the table and looked around. He called for Ed and Ein, and they reported quickly into the room. Jet himself began eating, and to think he finally made the bell peppers _with_ beef this time and hardly anyone is here to enjoy it.

---------------------------

"Spike-person!! Hey, where are you Spike-person??" Ed was walking aimlessly through the Bebop looking for the lanky man with fuzzy green hair.

"What's the matter Ed?" Faye asked as Ed passed by her open door.

Ed ran into the room, "Ed cannot find Spike-person anywhere!" Ed's face resembled a bit of worry and frustration.

"Don't worry Ed; if he's gone he'll be back. He always comes back…" Faye stated, trying to cheer the distraught child before her.

"Ok!!" Ed chanted, thoroughly happier already. She began to retreat from Faye's bedroom before Faye stopped her.

"Hey Ed," Faye spoke as Ed turned around. "Why are you looking for him anyways?" she inquired.

"Spike-Person wanted me to research some things, want to see!?" she replied excitedly, as she spun in circles.

"Yah, sure. You can show me," Faye said as she began to get up from her position on her bed.

"Ok! Follow Edward!!!!" Ed chanted as she began to get too giddy for her own good. She ran out of the room and over to her computer. "Look Faye-Faye!! This is all the information I found about your virus, you might want to read it!" Ed stated while moving her body to a beat that was unheard to everyone but Ed.

"What? Spike had you find information about my virus? Why?" she asked while starting to go over the information that was filling the screen on her Tomato.

"I don't know, you ran away Faye-Faye, and Spike-Person ordered me to find everything I could about it. Edward did a good job!" Ed stated proudly while standing up straight and saluting to an invisible Spike.

"Can I keep this information as well Ed?" Faye asked turned around and looking at Ed.

"Sure! Here ya go Faye-Faye!" Ed pulled out a pile of papers containing the information about Faye's virus and handed them to her.

Grateful, Faye smiled sincerely to Ed, and thanked her before retreating back to her room to read over the papers.

Ed, who felt like she did a good deed, returned to her computer and began to search for bounties. She hadn't given Faye more information like she had asked for days ago. She began typing calmly when Spike came into the room.

"Hey, Ed," was all he stated, as he plopped himself down onto the yellow couch as always. "Where is everyone?" he queried, noticing the unusual silence the Bebop held.

"Spike-person! Edward was looking all over for you! I have the information on Faye-Faye's virus!" Spike sat up suddenly.

"You do? Can I see it?" Spike stated extremely eager. He had a feeling that there was something suspicious going on behind the scenes, and he had a nagging feeling inside that was telling him to figure it all out.

"Yes, sir!" Ed saluted once again, and handed Spike a brand new packet of information. He started to look through the material the papers provided, and his eyes squinted as if he were in deep thought.

He suddenly stood up from the couch, papers in hand. "Thanks Ed," Spike stated as he retreated to an unknown destination.

-------------------------

"I don't believe this….this is….wow," She spoke quietly to no one but herself as she read over the material written out on the papers she held before her. She finally laid the papers down on the floor beside her bed and then laid back and stared at the ceiling.

There was a sudden knock at her door, she was in no mood to speak to anyone, and she was too busy contemplating what she just absorbed. She knew that if she didn't respond they would just turn and leave and come back later, that's what she wanted. She was in no mood to speak with anyone. Not now, not tonight, later…much later.

There it was again, another knock. 'Persistent aren't they?' she thought to herself. Sighing she turned over and closed her eyes. Another knock, so she closed her eyes even tighter, wishing for whoever was on the opposing side of her door to go away.

It didn't work, another knock, but instead of being followed by silence her door was flung open. "Faye! Come on! I know you're in here!" It was Spike.

"What do you want? If I didn't answer, it mean's 'do _not_ enter.' Do you not understand manners?" Faye wasn't in the mood for a fight now; she got up from her bed and began to push him out of the room.

"I don't think so, I need to talk to you. It's important!" He screamed as he grabbed onto the door frame with ease, and soon he didn't budge. Faye gave up and retreated back to her bed. She laid down once again, and faced her back towards him.

"Will you just go away?" Faye said, closing her eyes, wishing for him to leave.

"Not so easily," Spike smirked as he shut the door behind him and walked towards her bed. "Now sit up and listen to me, if you listen and don't fight me I'll leave faster," he ordered towering above her.

"Don't treat me like a little kid!" Faye spat, sitting up to meet his gaze.

Spike sat down on the farthest corner of her bed, Faye as usual shrunk away from him. "I had Ed do something for me…" Spike began.

"I know, she showed me," she said while trying to keep her anger down, she knew what would happen if she got too angry, she couldn't let it happen.

"She did? Oh…so you know everything?" he asked a bit surprised.

"Yes, and I don't exactly appreciate you going behind my back about this Spike," Faye stated a bit too calmly.

"Well, it's a good thing I did, no matter how mad you are at me, look what came up. It's a damn good thing I had her look this stuff up!" Spike responded simply.

"I don't need your help, besides, it's nothing. There's no reason to have looked anything up," Faye said, anger rousing inside of her.

Spike flinched, "What are you talking about? Did you not read the same thing I read?"

"Yah, I read it. What of it? Nothing important or useful in the whole damn thing. You're just drawing unnecessary conclusions. Now just get out," Faye stated matter-of-factly.

"You're a fool Faye, don't deny what's written right before your eyes! Look at this, it says right here," Spike showed Faye the words on the paper with his finger, "There weren't any known cases of it for years now! Nearly 6 years! How could you have randomly gotten it Faye? It's not possible!"

"You shouldn't get into other people's business Spike," she stated while turning her head away from the paper Spike was showing her.

"It is my business now. What are you in denial about Faye? You're a fool if you don't do something about what this says!" Spike spat back.

"What the hell Spike? I said leave me alone! This isn't any of your business! I probably just got the virus from someone in the casino I was at. It is very contagious too, did you forget to read that part? Yes? Or are you just reading the part that makes you draw such idiotic conclusions?" Faye's anger was rising rapidly, she stood up to yell with more force, "I don't think anything of it, besides, I'm not sick anymore. It's no concern to me, and therefore should be no concern to you. So if you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate it if you were to leave my room now. I'm going to bed!" Faye's face was becoming flushed; her anger had risen to that level again. She needed to get him out of her room.

"Faye come on; just listen to what I have to say! Don't you think it's a bit strange that the doctor told us that it was lucky that there were many cases of it recently so they were able to treat you quickly?" Faye began to push him out of her room with great force, but faltered with his last statement. "See, he said there were many cases, what reason would he have to lie to us?" Spike finished.

"But….I got it from someone at the casino. It's very contagious….it is." Faye began to mumble. It was too late.

"Just listen to what I have to say Faye. Faye? Faye!" Spike exclaimed as he watched Faye collapse where she stood. He reacted quickly enough to catch her, she lay limp in his arms. He was so shocked by her sudden fall that he didn't know what to do. He just stared at her for a brief moment and then walked to her bed, placing her down gently.

After standing above her, he shook her arm lightly. "Faye? Are you ok, Faye?" Spike sighed and left her room and shut the door behind him.

He found Jet quietly tending to his bonsai trees. He knocked softly and walked inside. "I have to talk to you Jet, it's about Faye."

"What happened now?" Jet asked exasperated from their last conversation.

"Listen Jet, you can't yell at me for this one. I was trying to help her. Anyways, I think there's something wrong with her, she just passed out a few seconds ago," Spike stated sitting down next to the older man.

"She what? What just happened?" Jet said, pulling himself away from his bonsais to listen to what Spike had to say.

"Well, to make a long story short, I had Ed research Faye's virus and well she just gave it to me today. And we need to talk about that after, damn Jet I can't believe it. Anyways, well, I went to go and tell Faye about it, but apparently Ed told Faye what she found out as well. So we basically got into a fight as always, but she's in denial of something, she doesn't think anything is a problem," Jet was listening contently, "Well, she just passed out, right in front of me, I caught her and laid her on her bed," Spike finally finished.

"Is she ok?" Jet asked truly concerned about the well being of his comrade.

"Well, I don't know. After I put her on her bed I came in here to talk to you," Spike explained.

"Wow, you know what? You're last fight with Faye. Did you two actually end it, or did she just run away?" Jet asked, trying to piece things together.

"She looked as if she saw a ghost and ran away to her room, why?" Spike asked, obviously not following Jet's train of thought.

"Well, I think this isn't the first time she's passed out Spike," Jet stated, as Spike began to feel guilty understanding what Jet had been getting at, "She must have ran away because she knew she was about to pass out. I can't believe it! No wonder she didn't respond when I knocked on her door!" Jet exclaimed, knowing he had just figured it out.

"Wow, I can't believe it. I've been making her pass out? You think it's the anger?" Spike asked.

"Why would she want to keep something like this from us? We wouldn't do anything but help her, why keep it from us?" Both Spike and Jet were lost in thought.

"I don't know..." Spike had no clue what was going on anymore, especially with Faye.

"Maybe we should go check on her?" Jet asked, unsure of what to do at the moment.

"Ok," was all Spike could think of saying.

The two men walked silently back to Faye's bedroom where they found her laying on her bed just like Spike had left her. Jet walked over to her, and looked at her face, pale white. Leaning over he lightly shook her arm and whispered in her ear to wake up. She did not rustle.

"Geez, should someone wait in here to make sure she's ok when she gets up?" Spike asked the older man unaware of what to do in this situation.

"Well, I guess you just volunteered. Make sure to get me when she wakes up, I want to talk to her as well," Jet exclaimed walking towards the door.

"What? Why do I have to? I don't want to sit in here!" Spike began to fight back against Jet's orders. "C'mon Jet!"

"Just sit in here, and when she wakes up, make sure she's ok, and then get me. It's simple really." Jet left the room.

Spike sighed and decided it'd be best to just sit on the chair next to her bed and wait. Hopefully she'd get up soon and they could talk about what Ed found. She needed to understand that nothing made any sense, Spike feared that Faye's life was in danger, and he felt it his duty to find out. He had a bad feeling about this, a very bad feeling.

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Author's Note: So….I think this chapter was back to normal, and I hope that you all agree. I'm sorry about last chapter; I don't know what was wrong with me. I agree, it just wasn't that great, sigh… Well, I hope you enjoyed this, I think it's starting to get better, and I actually enjoyed this chapter. Soooo much more than last chapter. Haha, well, I hope I didn't loose any readers…:( Ohh well! Thank you for reading! And I hope everyone had a great holiday! Yay! Well…Until Next Time…

Later Space Cowboys….


	5. Silent Escape

Woot! I am back! Haha, I love how I make this so exciting! Thanks for all the reviews everyone! Ahh! I love reviews! they are the best! THANK YOU!!! Anyways, on with the story…

-Wish You Weren't Here-

Time had gone by while Spike waited for Faye to awake and he had found himself lost in thought. The information that Ed had provided Spike gave him an unsettling thought of what was happening with Faye and the virus she was administered. He had a disturbing feeling that it wasn't just by some small chance of fate that Faye had gotten this virus; he couldn't shake the feeling that it was a deliberate thing.

He went over all he had found out; the information stated that there were no known people that had contracted the virus in years. Nearly six years had gone by without it popping up, but perhaps the strangest of all was the fact that the doctor told all of the Bebop crew that he was able to treat her so quickly because the virus was going around. Was the doctor lying, and if he was, what reason would he have to lie?

Nothing made any sense! The information reveled that the virus was human made, meaning that someone more than likely administered it to a specific person if it was not caught by someone that was already infected. The chances that Faye did in fact catch this virus from someone else was possible, perhaps the information wasn't put into any database just as Faye's hasn't yet. But the chances of that? Slim to none. It just didn't seem to make any sense; the whole situation was extremely improbable.

Perhaps the scariest part of all was the fact that the virus was said to be a "gateway virus," meaning that these people that go into the criminal life of creating viruses usually start with this virus, as it is said to be extremely simple to create. Unfortunately for the creators there are many different antibiotics that can prevent death for the unlucky victim.

Usually after the creator finds it simple to create this virus, they continue on with experimenting with different and more complex diseases that are often more fatal and cause certain life and death experiences for its victims. If the creator becomes even more experienced they may even go as far as to create their own potent concoction. Which will obviously have no antibiotics available to doctors from the start, as it was just newly fashioned.

Of course the process of this virus making goes through a matter of years to get to the point of experimenting with forming their own virus, but it didn't matter. Most people had to learn from someplace, or rather someone.

If someone had specifically targeted Faye she was in more danger than she could possibly understand at the moment. Spike could only hope that whoever did this to her wasn't planning on experimenting with anything more potent, if they were…even Spike wasn't sure what to expect from this.

Maybe he was making idiotic conclusions like Faye had suggested, but he couldn't shake the horrible feeling he had when he read the information. Something wasn't right, it was far too suspicious.

He needed to think of what to do, but not without talking it over with Faye. She had gotten extremely upset the last time they talked, and even passed out from the clash. He couldn't go about finding anything out if Faye was against it, he needed her to help in the process. He could only hope that she would be understanding and realize that Spike was only trying to help.

Spike wouldn't just need the help from Faye, he'd need Ed and Jet to help as well. This was seemingly turning into the old times. Ed gathered all the information as Spike, Jet and Faye went in and did all the dirty work. Maybe this would finally get things back on track at the Bebop, make them realize how much they had actually missed Spike. Not saying that he wanted Faye's life at stake, but it might be the key that would make them all appreciate his help once again.

One question still remains, why was Faye the target? What could she have done or who could she have seen? Why was she still sleeping? He needed to talk to her, they had a lot to do and the sooner they started the better.

Spike glanced over at Faye, she still lay on her bed in the exact position that Spike had put her in. He sighed and put his hand to his hair, he found no reason to stay in here. She was as safe by herself as she was if Spike was sitting in the kitchen enjoying a meal. He got up and loomed over her unconscious figure, then swiftly turned around and headed for the door. He quietly placed his hand on the handle and turned it slowly. He glanced backwards one more time and then gracefully walked through the doorway.

He found Jet doing exactly what his stomach had been telling him to do, sitting at the table enjoying some food. Jet saw Spike enter and stop mid-bite. "What are you doing in here? Is she up yet?" Jet asked as he began to continue eating.

"Nope, what are you eating?" Spike answered nonchalantly, sitting down next to Jet who looked a bit irritated.

"Hey now! You're supposed to watch her for when she gets up!" Jet shot back, completely oblivious that Spike had picked up some of his food and ate it himself.

"What's the point? She'll come out when she's awake anyways, no need to stay in there," Spike answered, apparently making his point as Jet began to eat again.

Both sat next to each other and ate in silence, both lost in contemplation. Spike thought that it would be best if they were to both discuss what they should do about Faye before they talked to Faye about it, he knew she'd completely rebellious.

"So?" Jet questioned finishing the food and placing it down in front of him. He turned to Spike who lifted an eyebrow in confusion, still stuffing his face full with food. "When are you going to tell me what's up?"

Spike swallowed and began to speak, "Well, that virus…it was human made….it's called Bracifacoccus…simple virus…probably created by a newbie…but….I think she might…..be in trouble….we've got to…..talk to her." Spike answered in between mouthfuls.

"You think she's in trouble? Why would you think something like that?" Jet asked as Spike went into detail about how the virus hadn't been contracted in years and how the doctor must have lied.

As they discussed the matter further Jet agreed with Spike's thoughts, he too thought it best that they find out as much as possible and make sure that Faye was certainly not in danger. Time passed and soon they found themselves watching the television, and forgetting about their current issues.

Meanwhile, Faye had begun to wake up in her room. She sat up and began to rub her forehead, amazingly her headache wasn't nearly as bad as it had been last time she passed out. Suddenly she though of the last scene she could remember…Spike. Shit! Did she pass out in front of Spike? She couldn't be sure but she prayed it wasn't true.

Glancing at the clock she realized it had been nearly an hour and a half since she could last remember. She was probably only out for an hour, that wasn't so bad. She should go out and act as if nothing happened, that way if Spike hadn't seen her pass out then all would be well.

She stood up slowly, and wobbled for few seconds and then managed to gain her balance. She glanced at herself in her mirror to make sure that her face wasn't pale, she looked fine. Opening her door she stepped out, determined to act as normal as possible.

Entering the room she noticed the both of them watching the television, feet propped up., empty plates and food containers everywhere. At least they were enjoying themselves, she thought spitefully. Ed was no where to be found, she was probably off with Ein or hopefully finding her that bounty information.

As she walked into the room she put a swing in her hips and casually plunked herself down into the yellow chair adjacent to the couch the two occupied. She didn't look at either of them, but could feel both pairs of eyes watching her. She nonchalantly watched the TV as if nothing were unusual.

As both men continued to stare Faye felt her body tensing. Were they trying to be obvious? Faye turned her head to meet their gaze and put on her best act to behave as if she had no idea what was going on. "What's wrong with you guys?" Faye asked quizzically.

"Drop the act Faye, we know," Spike stated bluntly. Faye's face dropped suddenly. Damnit, they knew!

Faye feigning ignorance, "What are you talking about? You know what? About my virus? Spike have you forgotten? We've had this conversation already." She knew that her voice was strong and showed no sign of her lying.

Spike had to think for a moment, was she serious or was she faking it? Faye had talents and lying was usually one of them, but the majority of the time Spike could see through her false statements. This time was different, he couldn't tell.

"Faye, give up. We know; no use putting on a fake charade." Jet spoke clean and smoothly. There it was! Faye's face faltered, Spike saw it and knew she had been lying.

"Jet…." Faye managed to say as she looked away from both of the men that sat before her.

"Why wouldn't you tell us Faye? You know I wouldn't have done anything but help you," Jet spoke softly, showing a tiny bit of disappointment in his voice. "You promised you'd tell me if something happened Faye. Here you go again keeping things from me, how am I supposed to know that something is wrong if you don't tell me? I can't help you if I don't know."

Spike could always read Faye's emotions by looking within her eyes, but this time he couldn't. Her head hung low and her violet hair was blocking Spike's view of her face.

"But…I didn't want you guys to know. I could handle it myself, it's not a problem!" Faye lifted her head and looked defiantly towards Jet.

"Obviously it is Faye! You can't control it! What if you were searching for a bounty and this happened? Did you think of that Faye?" Jet spat back at Faye's ignorant comment.

Spike was staring at his two comrades in disbelief. Things had certainly changed in his absence. Faye acting submissive towards Jet? Jet acting like an authority father-type figure over Faye? What was happening? Spike's confusion left him considering if he had even gone on the right ship with the right people. Twighlight zone…

"Jet you wouldn't understand! You can't treat me like this," Faye got up and yelled loudly. She turned around and began to leave, "Just leave me alone Jet, and stop acting like you're my father!" Faye stated while leaving the room in a hurry.

"Ahh! This ship just gets crazier and crazier!" Jet spoke to Spike, whose face looked blank from confusion.

"What in the world just happened?" Spike asked, completely dazed by the whole scene that went about him only seconds before. "Why are you acting like that toward her?"

"Well, I don't suppose anyone told you, huh?" Jet asked Spike, as he began to rub his balding head.

"No," Spike simply replied.

"Well, you know how I told you she left numerous times?" Spike nodded. "I never knew what in the world she was doing, but most of the time she was out getting bounties to bring money back to the ship. She worked damn hard, especially because I wasn't much help with my injured leg." Jet leaned back and closed his eyes, seemingly going back into time, "She came back one time, injured. I had no idea, but I found her wincing throughout the day at bending over and at easy simple life things. So, I confronted her. She denied the whole thing, obviously. She's too damn stubborn to reveal a weakness."

"That's her," Spike interjected.

"Well," Jet began again, ignoring Spike's statement, "One day she was laying on this couch, sprawled out. I started screaming at her to make some dinner because I wasn't in the mood. Well, surprisingly she didn't budge. I walked over to her and attempted to wake her up. Nothing. I looked at her side, blood. She had been shot and the bullet was still logged inside of her for nearly a week! That stubborn women had been out collecting bounties, cooking and cleaning this ship with a bullet in her gut! I rushed her to the hospital and she got an awful infection from the bullet. It took her awhile to recover, not that she'd admit it. Anyways, I made her promise to never withhold anything like that from me again. She knows she almost died, thank God she didn't…" Jet faded as his story finished.

"Wow, she really has changed?" Spike stated staring blankly across the room. He was surprised to hear about Faye's determination and piousness towards managing the Bebop while he was away. She certainly wasn't the women he had left behind that day in the hanger. She no longer would steal from them for her own greedy needs and Spike respected her for it. He had always held some sort of respect and admiration for Faye, but now he truly did. She wasn't a selfish shrew anymore, she'd seemingly grown up into something more civil and selfless since Spike's absence. He was curious to see what other things had changed since he disappeared.

"So! You want to make some dinner?" Jet asked jokingly towards Spike who looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"What!? That's not my job! Go get her to do it!" Spike said as he motioned in the direction that Faye had left only minutes before.

"Fine, I'll make something, but I want to talk to Faye first," Jet stated as he rose from his seated position and walked out of the room.

Spike positioned himself more comfortably and refocused his attention to the television. Now that he was distracted by Faye's scene he had missed what was happening, he hated when that happened.

--------------------------------

"Faye Faye!! Edward has something for yooouuu!" Ed happily screeched as she ran throughout the Bebop with a pile of papers in hand.

Faye stepped out suddenly of her room and Ed ran face first into her. "Ed! Shh! You don't want Spike to hear do you?" Faye spoke forcefully but quietly to Ed.

Ed regained her composer and looked down, "No, no!" Then looking up with gleaming eyes, "Edward has _real_ important information this time!" she stated while handed the papers she had been holding to Faye.

Faye took the papers from her and looked over them, "Thanks Ed," Faye stated as she began to enter her room once again.

"Faye Faye, you've got to be quick this time. Edward promised Spike-person that Ed would have it ready by today," Ed exclaimed to Faye.

"No problem Ed, just come see me when you need it, ok?" Faye explained to Ed.

Ed nodded slightly and spun around, she danced her way back to her Tomato.

Faye walked back into her room and shut the door. She knew that this was what she was waiting for. Shortly after the battle with Spike and Jet, Faye had gotten a hold of Ed and asked her to find anything and everything about her virus. When asking her she was told by Ed that Spike was still having her do research. Faye, although enraged by his persistence simply asked Ed to give everything she found to Faye first. She would then filter through the information to take out anything that would give Spike any leads.

This time Ed had found real information that would be essential. Ed talked about how she was so close to narrowing down who had given her the virus that Faye was sure that she had done it this time. Sure enough, the information before her bore the information she craved.

The man, Kiyoshi Motomura, had been a hacker studying under the supervision of the one and only Yukio, one of the most wanted men alive. Yukio had been wanted for some of the most notorious hackings in the past 15 years, he even has had a part in the intergalactic virus producing.

"So that's where Motomura learned it from," Faye thought out loud. As she began to skim through the pile of papers, hardly reading the information they contained. She paused when she came across the information she desired most. Where to find the wanted man that almost destroyed her life. Mars.

She knew what to do. She gathered the needed information and left her room and headed for the hanger. On her way she gave Ed the information back, "forgetting" the papers that would help lead Spike to her destination. "Here you go Ed. Thanks," Faye stated as she left the room and entered into the hanger.

She finally had the chance to prove to herself, Jet and Spike that she was able to take care of herself and that she wasn't weak. She needed to prove this to Spike mostly.

As she took off from the Bebop she quickly glanced back and wondered how long it would take for anyone to realize that she left. When she would leave in the times before Spikes heroic departure she was never missed. No one would ever notice nor care, but when Spike had left and Faye would take off it would only be a matter of time before Jet called her. It was more of a reassurance for Jet, Faye assumed, he was left alone if Faye up and left him like everyone else had done. Faye thought that Jet wasn't exactly the lonely type, and he certainly needed her in the past.

But would he need her now? After all Ed and Ein had been back for awhile now, and with Spike's reappearance would she be needed? Faye doubted that she'd be wanted. She sighed and blasted off, wondering if she would even return after completing her mission.

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The room was dark and smelt damp; the air was moist with humidity. Spike couldn't see a single thing and yet he kept walking, he was searching for something, or someone? He had no idea where he was or why he was there, he just had to find something, and fast.

As he kept walking with his arms extended forward to avoid hitting anything he came across a wall. Spike's hands grazed loosely against it and found a knob, it was a door. He opened it slowly as light took over his entire form, it was blinding.

He squinted his eyes as he stepped through the doorway. The room on the opposing side of the door had white washed walls. The furniture, white. Curtains, white. Everything, white.

Spike walked towards a window. As he walked closer he noticed they were French doors, taller than himself. Actually, they seemed to grow in height with each closing step. Spike continued to march forward.

When he was face to face with the glass the doors were so high he couldn't see the start. Unfazed Spike looked out of the glass and saw before him a balcony that beyond it held a magnificent landscape. Where was he?

The mountains rolled with luscious trees growing atop. The colors were astounding, a great change from the dull, lifeless room he currently occupied.

Spike reached down and opened the door, the swung open with grace. For such giant doors they were weightless, he walked through with ease.

Stepping onto the balcony Spike looked around. There were chairs and a table, both were white. Spike walked over to the ledge and placed his hands on the edge and leaned over. Suddenly he lost his balance. The wall of the balcony crumbled from beneath his weight and Spike tumbled over the wall and fell into blackness.

As he awoke he noticed he was in a dark room similar to the room he occupied pervious to his fall. The smell in this one was much stronger, and stung his noise.

Spike stood, and began walking hearing his footsteps ring in his head, loudly and painfully. He heard someone scream, what were they saying? He stopped walking to listen more carefully. Silence.

He continued in the direction of the scream and noticed he was walking down a long hall, there was a faint light, just enough to see his hand in front of his face.

There it was again, the scream. It sounded like they were screaming his name! Was it Faye?

Faye!

What was wrong with her? Spike began running as the shrieking came more often.

He could hear her, she was calling out for him, her voice sounded strained and in pain. He needed to get to her, he needed to help her.

"Spiiiike-person!" It was Ed, where was she? "Spike-person!"

Spike yelled, "Where are you Ed? Ed!" he stopped walking as all the noises that surrounded him began to mix together.

Suddenly he found himself laying down in the yellow couch, the Bebop as his surroundings. It was only a dream!

"Spike-person!" Ed exclaimed once again as she bounced around Spike attempting to awake him from his sleepless slumber.

"Oh, Hi Ed," Spike said casually as he rubbed his face in attempt to forget about what he'd just seen, or rather heard.

"Edward finally has your information," Ed explained while doing cartwheels around the yellow couch.

"Ok, thanks Ed," Spike held no emotion in his voice.

"Spike-person is not pleased with Edward?" she asked showing sadness in her face, she had discontinued her cartwheels.

"No, no no. Sorry Ed, I'm just tired," he lied.

"Well, Ed put Spike-person's things over there," she pointed to the table by the TV, and then she left.

"Uh huh," Spike managed to say a little too late, she was gone.

He didn't understand what that dream meant, it felt so real. He'd never even seen that place before, what could it be?

Deciding to put it behind him he got up and grabbed the information and read over it. Ed was supposed to have everything, it seemed to take her forever. He sat and read the information over and when he finished he stood up to find Faye.

He knocked on her room door, after all it was the place she spent most of her time these days, away from Spike. He knew that she avoided him purposely, it was sort of foolish to hide in one place though, he knew where she was. She wasn't very successful at avoiding him.

She didn't answer his knocks, so he decided he'd just have to walk in. "Faye I'm coming in," no answer. He grabbed the knob and turned it, walking inside. She wasn't there, strange? Had she found a new spot to hide from him?

He left the room and walked into Jet's bonsai room, "Hey, have you seen Faye?" he asked.

"Nope, ask Ed. I heard those two talking earlier. Something about her virus," Jet explained never taking his eyes off his trees. You'd have thought he clipped everything off of them by now with the time he takes in clipping them.

"Ok…" Spike spoke while thinking. "Wait, Ed talked to her about the virus? Shit," Spike spoke quickly as he left the room leaving Jet with a confused look across his face.

"Ed, where are you?" Spike talked loudly, hoping the hacker would hear his call.

"Ed is right here!" she jumped in front of him, surprising him slightly.

"Where is Faye?" he spoke directly.

"Ed does not know, she left," Ed explained while pointed in the direction of the hanger.

"Damn…" Spike ran to the hanger, hoping to catch her.

Upon entering the hanger he immediately noticed the lack of her ship, the Redtail. Faye had escaped already. She was going to get herself into trouble, he knew it.

He raced back through the Bebop and entered the control room. He walked up to the window and he saw no sign of Faye's ship near the Bebop, she was gone. Damnit, this wasn't good. He quickly turned from the window and walked to stormed into his quarters.

Ed walked into Spike's room while he was hurriedly collecting important items as quickly as he could. "Spike-person?" she questioned thoroughly confused.

"Ed you didn't tell Faye who had done this to her, did you?" Spike asked while continuing his task at hand.

"Yes! Right before Edward told you!" Ed obviously had no idea what was going to happen.

"Why didn't you give it to me like I asked?" Spike asked turning around to look the small hacker in the eye. He couldn't stand the lack of knowledge of small children.

"Faye Faye asked me for it. Ed thought she had a right to know, it was her virus," Ed's face looked down, she wasn't sure what was wrong, but she knew that she had a part of it.

"It's ok Ed, I need to talk to Jet," Spike clarified as he left the room and Ed behind.

Spike entered the bonsai room again, "Faye's gone after Motomura, the guy that made her virus. He studies under Yukio, Jet," Spike spoke fast, trying to get the point across.

"Shit," was all Jet could say.

"Stay here with Ed, I'm going to try to bring her back. There's no way she can do this herself, what does she think she's doing?" Spike spoke with anger in his voice, Faye was a complete fool to go against him solo.

"Spike, neither can you if Yukio is involved," Jet spoke softly, standing up.

"I need to go now, I might catch her. You can bring up the rear, it's the best we can do right now," Jet knew Spike was right, but couldn't think of letting his two adult comrades going out and risking their lives without his help.

"Fine, but let me know what's happening. Where are we going to go?" Jet questioned.

"Mars, and hurry." Spike explained as he left and headed towards the hanger.

Spike jumped into his Swordfish and blasted away from the Bebop quickly. He couldn't possibly understand why she would act so foolish and risk her life the way she was. It wasn't worth it! He obviously has more power than she does, he proved that to them already with Faye.

"Damnit woman!" Spike screamed while slamming his fist against the panel before him. He attempted to call her Redtail but she wouldn't pick up. There was no way she was there yet, they were a good distance from Mars, a half a day journey in her mono. There wasn't a possible way she was there yet, Spike saw her this morning.

He tried calling her again but to no avail she still didn't respond to his call. He only hoped that he could catch up with her. If she didn't have a good head start then he was able to catch up without a care. His Swordfish II was a racing mono after all.

Spike gave his mono more gas and he zoomed through the space that surrounded him. He was going to catch that shrew before she risked her life and possibly his.

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Author's Note: So? The action is just starting! Haha, thank you everyone for all my reviews again! I couldn't believe the nice things everyone said to me so I decided to thank you all personally!

Neko-Yuff16: Thank you for your kind review! And I have updated just as you had asked! Thank you for reviewing!

Jdchs: Wow! I can't tell you how happy I was to read this review! It was honestly the nicest I've read by far! You definitely made my smile and I started typing the instant I read it! Thank you so much! Oh! And I'm not going to tell you if you're on the right track or not, but you can be sure to find out soon enough! And yes, I am sure this is my first fanfict, thank you!

amethyst-tears: Well, as you may have learned in this chapter, it is a little weird that the doctor said it was gone. Congrats! You're the only one to catch that! And Faye didn't want to talk about it because she hates showing weakness, I've been trying to show that and I think this chapter may have showed it a bit more. Well, thank you VERY much for your review! Happy reading!

Jadedghostgurl: So Spike _is_ the talker these days huh? Haha, I think it may be a little OOC, but I hope that you enjoy it just the same! Thank you for the review!

Lydrel: I'm glad you think it's exciting! Yay! And I'm even happier to hear that you like the way that Spike acts. I've been kind of worried that he's been too OOC for this fict, but it seems to me that some of you like it! Which explains the reviews! Thank you again! And just to let you know, I'm a senior in high school, not in college.

Just some guy: Thanks for the kindness! That's was a very kind review, thank you for the inspiration. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I really appreciate all you have to say! You were all very kind! Well, thanks again! Take care everyone, and until next time….

Later Space Cowboys…..


	6. Pursuing Death

Wow. So I realized something…I really have been taking forever to send out new chapters. How awful of me! No good. I'm going to try for one chapter a week. I know that's not that wonderful either, but its probably going to be what I can get out. I realize that a lot of the time it might be later and it even might be earlier, but my goal is going to be one a week. Maybe I'll publish new chapters every Friday? Hmm..I hope so. It is going to be my goal for all of you amazingly sweet reviewers! Oh, also, I am SO sorry for all those awful typos last chapter! I read it over just a few minutes ago, how embarrassing! There is a HUGE amount of typos! Sigh! Oh, bad news too guys. I finally found an Escaflowne for sale, the perfect collection. And just my luck, it was backordered the instant I bought it. I wonder if I'll ever get it. I can't believe I was so slow in purchasing it! Ha. So anyways, sorry this was long! Happy reading everyone!

--Wish You Weren't Here—

She slowly opened her eyes, pain stung the back side of her head. What had happened? Her eyesight was blurry and made it hard for her to focus on her surroundings. She went to bring her head up to assess the damage but was restrained. What was going on?

She managed to bring her body around and her vision began to clear; she was in a dark room. Realizing her predicament she cursed under her breath. She was captured. Hands tied behind her back, injured head, left by herself. The whole deal. This was just great. What had happened exactly?

Slowly her mind began to go back in time remembering the past few hours…

flashback

Spike had been calling her, non-stop. He was very persistent; a trait he used well. Faye had felt that she was on a mission, and surprisingly she wasn't as thrilled as she thought she would have been when it was found that she was missing from the Bebop. Instead she was rather upset and annoyed by Spike's never ending calls to her mono.

Deciding that ignoring him would never help, she answered his millionth call.

"What!?" she did not hide her anger and frustration, this of course caused him to smile.

"Are you stupid?" Spike asked, pausing purposely to irritate her further. "You can't do this on your own, you need me you know." He finished.

Faye's entire face was readable; she was the essence of anger. "You're an ass, so full of yourself. I don't need you, I've never needed you," that was a lie. She could remember where not too long ago she was wishing she could have done something to prevent him from leaving that day, wishing that she could have kept him alive. What happened to that feeling? The image of the man caught in the plasma screen was not who she thought she loved. Loved? Did she think that? No, the feelings she felt for this man were far from love. Loathed, she loathed this man.

"You never needed me? Ha! You've been so pathetic lately, moping around the Bebop. When was the last time you even left? Back to the 'Oh, I'm too good for this ship. I'll let everyone else do the work for me while I sit back and relax' Faye I see. Ok Faye, I know what you've been up to while I've been gone. Why the sudden change?" Spike knew he'd hit an emotion with the words he spoke, he intended to. She was running away because her emotions were flying, she wasn't thinking rationally. "You're a fool Faye. A fool if you believe you can do this on your own," he paused, waiting for a response.

"I don't understand how you can waltz back into our lives acting like you know everything about us. You don't know a thing about me, nor will you ever. I don't intend on telling you, nor do you intend on asking," she held back tears. She couldn't control her emotions the last few days. Everything that had been happening to her was overwhelming and hard to swallow. Besides, Spike wasn't making it the slightest bit easier for her.

Spike fought back the urge to laugh, instead he allowed a smirk to form across his lips. "You'd be surprised about what I know about you."

"Like what Spike? You can tell me that I'm an emotionless woman, whose soul purpose in life is to fight with you and make your life a living hell? I'm the shrew woman! The fool! The person that wishes she had a past to look back to. I'm a lost soul Spike! You know nothing of me; I don't even know anything about me!" Faye countered easily, letting her emotions speak for her.

Spike sighed, "I know that you're the most stubborn woman I've met to date."

Faye froze from her ranting fury, she didn't respond to his statement. She stared at him as he stared back. Both lost in their own thoughts.

"Listen, Jet told me about your little run away experiences, including the time you hurt yourself. How you still went bounty hunting with the bullet inside of you. I realize you're stubborn, that proves it for one. Faye, you cannot do this on your own. Accept my help and we can take him down together. Really show him what he got himself into. You and me," Spike tried reasoning with her.

"No," her answer was simple yet full of meaning.

"You're impossible. Well, there's no way that any of us are letting you do this alone. So, I guess you're just going to have to put up with it, I'm helping you whether you like it or not," Spike was getting annoyed. How could she not see her stupidity?

"Nice try, but if I'm right you have no idea where he is, right Spike?" Faye smirked, she had left out the information of where he was frequently seen purposely, in case of a moment like this. "I'm flattered by your sense of heroism Spike, but unfortunately, this time I'll be getting paid _my_ reward while you'll still be searching for it. Good luck Cowboy." Faye disconnected the call and smirked menacingly as she let out a small giggle. She sure told him off! Finally, she felt great! All she needed to do was get there, find him, roughen him up and turn him in! Even if the man was a mere 1.2 million woolong bounty she was going to show Spike that she was capable of taking care of herself, she was not in the need of a savior.

Spike cursed under his breath. That woman was impossible! Why can't she see how irrational she was behaving? It was as if she was walking into death on a silver platter! Why would someone want to do that? Suddenly Spike felt guilt, he had done that. She tried stopping him, was this how she felt? Angered, annoyed, helpless? He wasn't sure, but he knew how his heroism ended up and if Faye's was the least bit similar he needed to get back to her, and fast.

"Hey Jet, I need you to tell Ed to give me all the information about this guy that she gave to Faye. Apparently Faye knows more than I do, which means that she'll find him faster," Spike spoke directly into the screen, getting to the point.

"Hang on, I have no idea where she is," Jet explained as he walked away from Spike's view.

A few seconds later a red blur ran past, Spike knew it was Ed. "Ed!" he didn't have time for her antics. "What did you give Faye that you didn't give to me?"

"What? Ed gave Spike-person everything that she gave Faye Faye," the child's face was contorted in confusion. "Ed gave Faye Faye the papers and handed the same papers to Spike-person."

"Well, she must have taken some papers out then, do me a favor and find where this guy likes to hang out, and hurry. I don't have time to wait, I should be there within the hour," Spike's face showed no emotion, just determination.

"Aye aye Captain Spike-person! Ed will find you everything!" Ed saluted to the screen and Spike ended the call.

He couldn't understand why he was so angry. He couldn't hide his frustration, he just wanted to slap Faye across her face and tell her to wake up. "Foolish woman…" he spoke to himself.

"Why thank you," it was her voice. He looked down and her face was clear on the screen. She smirked toyingly.

"What do you want now?" Spike asked thoroughly annoyed with her.

"Well, just letting you know that I'm here. I thought I would wish you luck in beating me to it. So, good luck!" she laughed

Spike controlled his anger, "Wishing me luck? For what? You're going to get yourself into a lot of trouble Faye," he spoke with anger in his voice. "I wonder if you're wishing me luck at trying to save your ass while risking mine. Well, save the pity, you'll be thanking me later."

"Ok, Spike. I've got to go now, you call me when you get here. I'll tell you about everything, and I'll be 1.2 million richer!" she smirked ending the call.

end flashback

Well, wasn't she the one to talk. Now, here she lay, hand ties, legs tied and her head was throbbing. Sure got herself in a predicament didn't she? To make matters worse, Spike had been right. Now she was in danger, she didn't even remember much after ending the call with Spike.

Faye tried remembering but nothing was coming back. It was blurry and only bits and pieces would come back to her. Suddenly Faye's watch began to beep, it was a call, she had a call. Someone was looking for her! How could she answer it. "Hello?" she yelled to see if anyone was in the room with her, it was still hard to see.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" she screamed louder hoping to get someone's attention. Maybe whoever left her here didn't intend on returning, she didn't sense any danger.

"Well, well. It seems you're finally up pretty little lady," a man spoke from the far corner. Faye's senses were triggered. She saw his silhouette, he looked like a short, round man. His voice seemed calm and kind, and yet Faye was on defense mode, she no longer felt unthreatened.

"What do you want with me asshole? Who are you?" Faye asked demandingly, forcefully.

She surprised the man, "Well, aren't you a little pushy? You are the one that's tied up aren't you?" He began to chuckle, it seemed distantly familiar. "We really didn't want anything to do with you, to be completely honest. You're the one that came here and found us, but now that you've done that…" he paused, "I'm afraid now we will have to dispose of you. Can't have anyone fishing around now can we?"

Faye's anger rose, she couldn't believe this. "Why don't you untie me and we'll see about that?"

"Hmm….no. Can't do that. It's a lot easier to take advantage of a person such as yourself when their down and out. It was a nasty time having to tie you up, you wouldn't stop moving. It ticked me off and I have a scratch on my face to prove it. I'd rather not go through that again." The man sat down at a table, and began to eat.

He leaned over towards the window and opened the blinds. Light poured into the room causing Faye to wince, it was too bright for her eyes to adjust so quickly. As her eyesight began to unblur again she gasped. She could just make out the man that sat across the room, it was Doctor Klark!

"Why hello dear!" the doctor looked at her and saw her surprised expression plastered to her face. "Why, your head is a lot worse than I thought it was. Ha, that must hurt. Poor dear, it was the only way I could shut you up before you told the world. So ignorant," his voice had a way to calm your nerves, but that fact alone irritated Faye.

Once again Faye's watch started beeping, they were looking for her.

"How long was I out for?" she asked a bit quietly. If she wanted answers for her questions she would have to be kinder.

"Oh, I'm not sure. A day? Maybe more," he spoke with his mouth full, he swallowed, "I did hit you pretty hard, but it was needed. You're a loud woman, I would have thought differently from when you were in the hospital. You were quiet and timid. Hmm, I guess I didn't know any better."

"I see..." Faye thought back to Spike and Jet. Were they looking for her? After all she did tell Spike that by the time he would have arrived she would have caught the man responsible for giving her the virus, but instead, she was here. She wasn't even with the man, she was with the doctor? Nothing made sense. Wouldn't Spike like to know that the doctor was in on it. Cocky jerk was always right. Damnit all. She needed to get out of here and fix it, she couldn't allow herself to be teased by Spike's "I told you so" antics.

"Well pretty lady, I must head out. I wouldn't try anything if I were you though, this place will be hard to leave, and I've made sure of it. Have fun!" he laughed bitterly and headed into another room. Faye heard a door slam shut and his laughing ceased echoing throughout the room. He was gone.

She suddenly wiggled furiously, attempting to loosen the restraints she currently earned herself. Nothing. She suddenly remembered back to when she lay in this same position on Vincent's floor. Once again, she found herself hopeless, in need of help. It angered Faye further and she pulled with the greatest strength to loosen the restraints. It was hopeless.

Her watch began to beep again, maybe she could somehow turn it on, it was still on her wrist. She rolled herself on her back and applied pressure where her watch was attached. It still beeped, she rolled some more trying to succeed. Suddenly it stopped, had she done it? "Hello?" She yelled turning back to her side. Silence, she had failed.

"Faye? Where are you Faye?" it was faint but she could hear it! It was Jet!

"Jet! Can you hear me?" She spoke loudly, hoping to aid his hearing.

"Hardly, where in the world are you?" he asked. Even though Faye could hardly hear his voice she could tell he was concerned for her.

"Well, to be honest Jet, I have no idea," she yelled back to him.

"I can't see you though, and where have you been? We've been looking for you!" Jet's voice resembled anger this time.

"Well, I wish I knew where I've been Jet. You can't see me because the watch is on my wrist and my wrist is tied behind me," Faye was glad she wasn't explaining this to Spike, she would have felt even more incompetent.

"Geez, Faye! Are you hurt?" Jet's voice went back to concern.

"No, not really," she lied. Her head was killing her, and the doctor even admitted that it looked bad. Not to mention her wrists were now throbbing in pain from attempting to set herself free.

Jet sighed and Faye pictured him rubbing his face in frustration. He always did that when he was a loss for words and unsure what else to do.

"The doctor has me Jet. I just saw him, before you called. He told me that I shouldn't attempt to leave, he said that he had made sure that it would prove rather difficult if I did."

"The doctor?" Jet's voice was confused.

"Doctor Klark," Faye clarified. "He was just here, but left."

"Great…" Jet's voice was sarcastic. "Ok, I have an idea. Try your best to stay out of trouble, and answer if we call ok?"

"Ok Jet. How do you suggest I'll get myself into trouble? I'm tied and can hardly move, I'll try my best to answer any calls," it was Faye's turn to act sarcastic.

"Sorry Faye," he forgot about her current problem, he was focusing at the task at hand. "Take care Faye, and please try your best to answer, I'm going to need your help," Jet finished.

"I don't exactly see how you'll need my help when I'm like this," Faye answered back, but she received no answer. He must have cancelled the call. Faye sighed, now what was she supposed to do? Time was going to move slowly. Her eyes began to grow heavy, and she let them lay closed. Soon she was lost in sleep.

---------------------------------

Meanwhile Jet had headed towards the hospital that Faye was admitted to earlier that week. If the doctor left Faye alone he had to go someplace, perhaps back to his job. Unless it was a phony job that he had had just to get to Faye.

Jet ran into the building and up to the floor where he had waited for Faye to be released. He slowed his pace and casually walked up to the receptionist desk. The nurse that had helped Jet before was still there.

"Excuse me," Jet cleared his throat, "I was wondering if I could talk with Doctor Klark please."

"He's busy in recovery right now, does he know of your arrival?" the nurse asked kindly.

"No," Jet spoke with a crude voice.

"Well, do you have an appointment with him? He is a very busy man," the nurse spoke in response.

"Yes, he knew I was going to speak with him but unfortunately we never set a time and I was wondering if he had some spare time currently and he could fit me in," Jet lied and acted extremely calm and friendly.

The nurse before him acted as if she was in deep thought, she pushed back from her desk and stood up, "One moment," she spoke as she left Jet and walked into another room.

"Doctor, there is a man here to see you. He says that you and him were supposed to speak to each other but had never made a definite appointment time. Would you like for me to have him come back, or have him wait?" the nurse's voice changed, she no longer had her false kindness.

"What does he look like?" Doctor Klark was sitting behind his desk looking over paperwork; he had his feet resting on top of his desk carelessly.

"It's a man that was here not too long ago, he was here to pick up one of your patients," the nurse explained, "He has a metal arm."

"Interesting…" Doctor Klark remembered Jet quite well, perhaps he was here to see if she was readmitted now that she was missing. He knew he'd have to get rid of him quickly. "Send him in."

"Yes sir," the nurse bowed and left the room as quietly as she entered.

Coming back into the room where Jet currently waited the nurse opened a door and motioned towards Jet, "Come this way, he can see you now."

Jet nodded and walked in the direction the nurse showed him. They came up to a door that read "Klark M.D." At least the nurse was leading him to the right place.

"Hello Mr. Black, what can I do for you?" Doctor Klark spoke in a sincere tone.

"Well…" Jet began to walk in the room and noticed the nurse still standing in the doorway, "I'd like to talk to Doctor Klark in private please," Jet stated towards the nurse who loomed in the doorway.

She nodded and departed, shutting the door behind her leaving the two men alone in the room.

"Are there any problems with Miss Valentine? I hope she is recovering properly," Doctor Klark began.

Jet cleared his throat, "Listen here, I'm not going to sit here and listen to you pretend you have no idea what's going on. I have no patience and you're not going to fool me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Mr. Black," the doctor stated, feigning a surprised and confused look.

Jet stood up and placed his hand on the desk leaning forward, "I'm not in the mood for your charades, if I were you I wouldn't try pissing me off. I know you have her damnit!" Jet slammed his metal fist into the doctor's desk sending a pencil holder flying across the table while pens and pencils went soaring off his desk.

"Calm yourself, acting barbaric is no way to get her back Mr. Black. Being irrational is a foolish way to act," the doctor countered, his voice turning darker, the kindness lost in the mood.

"I swear, if you don't give her back you'll regret ever laying a finger on her. I will personally see to that!" Jet screamed back, standing up straight.

Doctor Klark smirked slightly out of the corner of his mouth, "I'd watch yourself if I were you Mr. Black. I have connections that you wouldn't believe. One word on my part and out you go along with your whole crew. She has now messed with us and we are prepared to handle it. You sir, have not offended any one as of yet. Be wise and leave here and do not concern yourself with my matters. Forget the girl, she is nothing of your concern nor will she ever be, see is dead to you. Now, leave and I will let you live along with your crew."

"You're going to regret saying that. Faye is a part of my crew and I will not stand here listening to you tell me that she is dead to me. She is alive and I want her returned to me, safe and unharmed. The sooner the better!" Jet screamed, unable to control his anger.

"Mr. Black you have just stepped beyond a boundary you'll never leave from. You should watch your back from now on," Doctor Klark stated while walking towards the door.

"Are you threatening me doctor?" Jet asked raising an eyebrow towards the short man in front of him.

"Well, one thing you do understand I see. I recommend you get out of here and quickly, you need time to warn your crew mates. You won't have much time before I let loose your nightmare," the doctor left the room, laughing full heartedly.

Jet's anger exploded, he ran over to the doctor's desk and tipped it over sending into flying into the wall. "Damnit!" Jet cursed.

He kicked the chair he had occupied earlier and cursed once more. Rubbing his bald head with his hand he gained an idea. What if Faye was at his home residence? It shouldn't be too hard to find it after all.

Jet quickly ran over to the desk he had flipped over, quickly regretted doing so. The papers from the drawers were strewn everywhere across the room. Still he searched through them hoping to find some sort of information that would lead him to Faye.

Finding some papers that looked like they could be useful Jet grabbed them and ran out of the room and away from the hospital. As he headed towards his Hammerhead he called his fellow comrade.

"Spike, we've got trouble. Meet me back at the Bebop, and hurry!" Jet's words were rushed as he quickly shut off his communicator and took off at an alarming rate forcing people to grab at their belongings at the strong wind he created.

----------------------------------------------------

Author's Note: Well, this was supposed to go out on Friday. Hmm..doesn't look like that happened huh? My internet was down and this was the earliest I could send it out. Sorry guys!!! Although I don't think maybe people were waiting for it, I only got three reviews for last chapter and it was out for a little over a week. Oh well, maybe this will be better. Hope you enjoyed it!! And for those awesome people that did review…

Neko-Yuff16: Well if your goal is being as kind as possible you succeed with flying colors!! Thanks so much!!! If you mean you wish that Spike and Faye would just fess up, I wish they would too! Hehe, but unfortunately it would be a little OOC and that's never good. So we'll get to the good stuff! Thanks again! I look forward to more reviews!!

Solid Snake SNK1: Ah ha! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad I've kept your interests this long, especially because I've been taking so long to review. My new goal as you probably have read is one chapter a week. Unfortunately I was late this week and I can hopefully still get the next chapter out by Friday. I'm really happy that you've brought this to my attention. I've known that I need to step up a notch I just haven't I don't know, been told it. So, thank you very much for that and the amazingly kind review! It was so extremely sweet of you! Please continue to review! I look forward to them!

amethyst-tears: Phew! Questions galore! I love it!! And yes, you're the only one to catch that, congrats again! Ok, I'm going to try my best to answer all your questions, but I'm not going to be able to answers all! So, Spike's dream. I can sort of answer this, I suppose it can represent the fact that he will need to save Faye, as this chapter shows. It may have more meaning further on, but that's the overall significance. Let's see, they intend to capture the guy that gave Faye her virus, can't kill him though if they want that bounty! Even if it's extremely small! Why Faye was the target is still unknown but will be revealed in due time! Hmm..and as far as we know Faye's virus was still the same virus as they'd expected, but man, things are suspicious huh??? I absolutely love the questions, I'm so glad you love this!! And to answer your last question, haha yes this is my first! THANKS SO MUCH! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and review again soon!!

Thanks to anyone else who has read this, I hope to get the next chapter out soon. I appreciate everyone's support and comments, it's so very helpful! Thank you everyone! Until next time…

Later Space Cowboys….


	7. Harmful Actions

Ah! I'm finally back everyone! Unfortunately my computer has been down for a VERY LONG TIME! As you can imagine… Something happened where the computer shut down for like 2 weeks, my dad's been working on it and this is the first that I got internet up. I wasn't even able to type until 2 days ago. Sigh…I hope people haven't given up on my story, because I think all of you will really like this chappie! It's a real treat! I hope you enjoy! And please don't be too mad!

-Wish You Weren't Here-

"Wake up!" he screamed while ramming his foot into her soft stomach. She wailed in pain, she hadn't been expecting the blow. "Don't whine at me, you got yourself into this mess!" the man's voice was cold and harsh.

Faye looked up towards the man who had just kicked her, "What do you want?" she asked sheepishly.

The man laughed hysterically, "What do I want? I want to get the hell out of here, but I can't cause I have to take care of you. You damn pig." He walked away from her and sat at the table where the doctor had sat prior.

"Where am I?" Faye asked quietly.

The man stood up and balled his hands into fists, "Will you shut up? I don't want to listen to your incessant bickering. Had I known you would have talked so much I would have let you sleep. Better yet I should just smack you unconscious. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." The gray eyed man stated while walking towards the injured Faye who lay curled in a ball on the floor.

He stood over Faye with fury in his eyes, "Are you going to shut up?" he asked impatiently.

Faye's eyes were tearing with fear as she stared at the man that loomed above her. Instantly she knew where she'd seen him before. She had seen him at the bar in Mars while looking for the bounty that Ed was supposed to find information about. It was him! Was he the one that gave her the virus? Was he Motomura?

Faye's lack of response angered the man and he kicked her again, "Answer me when you are asked a question!" the man certainly was full of anger, but Faye complied and nodded to him.

"Good, now get up!" he roared towards Faye who stared in disbelief. She was tied and hardly able to move, how he expected her to stand was beyond any form of belief.

She lay with skepticism written all over her face. Apparently the lack of trying angered the man further, this time he smacked Faye across the face leaving a trace of blood in the corner of her lips and a red mark on her left cheek.

As his hand hit her cheek Faye whimpered quietly in pain, trying her best to hide the hurt she felt from his blow.

The man towering above her was still angered by her lifeless body lying limp across the floor, and smacked her again and much harder this time. Faye understood and tried her best to stand erect but found it to be nearly impossible and more painful than she had originally expected because of her bound hands and legs. The best she could manage was standing on her knees, she stood staring defiantly into the grey eyes she recognized from the bar, she knew they were the same.

"You Miss Valentine are quiet a handful, I give you that," the man smirked, grabbing her face with his hand. Her chin rested on the palm of his hand as he moved his thumb across her lips, giving the man an evil idea as Faye looked away in defeat. She had no way to fight him off, and she sadly knew just that.

"Have you no boyfriend?" he asked to Faye, who answered by looking to the floor. "Answer me!" he screeched while tightening his grip on Faye's face.

She screamed in pain and her eyes closed tightly, wishing the wicked man would disappear. The screech in her voice only made him want to hurt her more, but there would be more time for that later, much later.

Without warning the man roughly let go of Faye's face and she fell to the floor in a crumpled mess. Her eyes opened and were glazed over in defeat, her eyes held no life, she stared into emptiness.

Suddenly there was a loud beeping noise that broke Faye out of her daze, it was Jet, they were still looking for her! There was still some sort of hope! She began to smile inside at the thought of Jet and Spike rescuing her but it was ripped from her as sudden as it came as the malevolent man hit her once again, sending her flying against a wall head first.

"You have a commutation device? Klark is such an idiot! Did you use this? You damn wench!" he was angered again, ripping the watch off of Faye's wrist and crushing it into tiny pieces between his muscular fingers.

Faye was sent to her daze once again, her last chance of hope was crushed in between the fingers of an evil man, and lay in pieces in front of her. She carried no hope of being rescued, she was hopeless, dead.

Once again Faye was smacked in the head by the man in a fit of rage, it sent her to the floor where she made no effort to gain strength to fight back. She didn't care and soon her world began to turn black. Sharp pains surged throughout her body and she didn't care. It was finally going to be over, over…over…

As the world around Faye began to fade and was consumed by darkness she heard slamming across the room and yelling. Who was there? A sharp pain to the stomach reminded her that the evil man was still there, but someone else was as well. The voice was familiar.

Spike.

It was Spike! He was here! He was here to save her from the hell that was unleashed upon her. Faye's happiness was growing, she heard the two men argue but was unable to distinguish what they were saying.

Slowly a buzzing within her ears began to grow until it totally overpowered all of her hearing. She felt someone touch her softly, it wasn't Motomura, that evil man, it was too kind to be him. Was it Spike?

"Faye…"

She then fell into unconsciousness.

-

He sat, watching her lifeless form. It was his fault after all, he felt that she had been his responsibility. Why he felt guilt was still unknown to him, but it didn't matter, that's the way he felt. She was lifeless, and he blamed himself.

He could still remember when he walked inside the room and saw her body lying bruised, beaten and pained. A surge of anger and fury took over his form at that point, he attacked the man as he continuously beat the girl on the floor who made no effort to move.

The fact that Faye lay motionless while the man above her beat her to unconsciousness was what filled Spike with anger. Faye was usually full of fire and never let anyone overpower her without putting up a large and strong fight. This man must have gotten to Faye, and that irritated him.

Perhaps the fact that Spike was unable to defeat her and that this man had in ways Spike never even imagined was most irritating. But certainly at this point, while he looked over her limp body, he did not think of such things. His only concern was her safety and well being. He wanted her to get better, he felt it was his own responsibility.

-

Jet walked out of the ISSP station counting the money he had just earned himself for bringing in the man Motomura. He was hardly conscious, as a token of Spike's affections. Jet had to hold Spike back with all of his might, he wasn't sure exactly what was wrong, but his emotions had exploded in a fit of rage against the man.

When Spike finally stopped beating him, he lay on the floor trying to grasp his breath. He had been holding his breath as he fought the man. Unfortunately for Motomura, he had no chance to defeat Spike. He never saw it coming. Spike leapt onto him and the man was instantly defenseless.

Jet's assumption was that Motomura wouldn't make it through the night, his face was hardly recognizable underneath the layer of blood that came from every cut on his face. The man was going to hurt if he ever did come back to consciousness.

Well, Faye was another story. He was unaware of her situation until Spike regained his breath and kneeled down to her form. Her face was swollen, badly bruised and stained with blood. Her arms and legs were tied, and she bore wounds, most likely from attempting to free herself. She was so stubborn after all.

The instant Jet saw her defeated form he rushed over to feel for a pulse, after a short while he found it, but it was faintly there. Jet hurriedly rushed to untie her arms and legs, and noticed how raw and bloody her wounds were from the tight knots. Those would certainly take a while to heal themselves.

Jet had looked up to Spike who just stared, and refused to move. He didn't dare touch her almost dead body, he just stared at her swollen face.

"Hey Spike," Jet called to his comrade, who answered with no response, "Spike!" Still Spike did not move, his eyes lay on the woman before him. What in the world was he thinking? "Spike?" Jet stated a bit louder.

"Hmm?" Spike muttered quietly, seemingly releasing his mind from his daze as he stared up at Jet.

"You need to take her back to the Bebop, I'll bring this bastard in before he dies and we receive no reward. You need to hurry, she needs care," Jet stated standing up and walking over to the crumpled mess of man on the floor a few feet over.

Spike still sat lifeless on the floor, sitting beside Faye. "Spike!" Jet yelled, causing Spike to jerk his head upwards to Jet's direction. "Now!" Jet fumed.

Breaking out of all dazes he nodded, standing up he gave Faye one last glance and then scooped her up into his arms. He instantly tensed, feeling her cold skin against his own. If he didn't know any better he would have thought she was dead.

"Hurry back Jet," was all Spike stated as he left the room and headed towards his Swordfish II.

Jet still couldn't get over the strange behavior Spike had while looking over Faye's lifeless form. After all, he had brought Faye to the hospital before when she had passed out, and Faye has been injured numerous times before and Spike had never been affected until now. He had actually made fun of Faye's situations she got into. Even when she was in the hospital and sent into a coma he didn't care and actually seemed happy. Whatever was bothering him now was something Jet found himself wondering the entire way back to the Bebop.

-

As she opened her eyes the first thing that came to mind was the awful, stinging pains that seemed to engulf her entire being. It had taken her a few seconds to register the past few events, Motomura, being tied up, being beaten.

She suddenly sprang up from her resting place and quickly shot back down as more pains began to shoot through her body. Motomura sure had kicked her hard, her stomach had never been so painful.

She chuckled quietly to herself as she realized her current situation. Damn was she stupid, going off by herself, getting beaten, being in such pain, and not the first time either. It seemed as if she was the one to always lie in painful misery.

"What's so funny?" a deep voice asked, surprising Faye. She quickly looked to the side, it was Spike. Had he been watching her? He looked tired.

"What are you doing in here?" Faye asked in a surprised tone, a bit uneasy that Spike had been watching her sleep.

"Making sure you're still alive," Spike answered smoothly, smirking playfully.

Faye looked down towards the sheet, she knew this would happen. Spike was now going to brag about how he was right and she was wrong. He was going to tell her how she deserved her situation because she had gotten herself into this mess. It was after all her punishment to Spike's standards.

"Go ahead Spike, just go ahead and tell me," Faye stated, feeling her body's weakness creep up on her. If she was about to feel the urge to cry, there was no way she'd be able to defend herself and force it to leave, she was too vulnerable. She needed to make him leave before she broke down in front of him.

Spike's expression changed, he looked confused, almost hurt. "What are you talking about Faye?" he asked.

"Just go ahead, I'm ready," she lied through her teeth.

"Do you want me to tell you that I was right? That you were wrong. That you got yourself into this mess. Yes, all those statements are true, but Faye, I certainly don't think you deserved this," he stated quietly.

Faye's eyes instantly darted to his face where she stared in disbelief. Spike had hardly been known for giving compliments, and to Faye this was the closest to anything nice he'd ever said to her.

Suddenly her eyes began to well up with tears, she was so overly emotional she found it hard to keep them inside and behind a protected wall. She needed to cry and had no time to escape from Spike's watching eyes.

She suddenly turned her head away from him and wept quietly. The silence did not however slow the stream of tears the made their way cascading down her face. She had been in so much pain lately, both physically and emotionally and it all came to this moment and came crashing down on top of her.

She no longer bore a wall that protected herself from the outside world, her entire essence was for the world to see at that exact moment, but only Spike was one to bear witness to such an event.

He stared in awe, he had never seen this side of Faye before, and was unsure what to do. He wanted to comfort her, stop her from crying, but was unable to move. He watched as she tried to hide her face from his watching eyes, but failed miserably as she wept.

Spike cautiously extended his hand and lightly placed it on her shoulder as a form of comfort. She stopped sobbing for a second and leaned into his warmth and touch. Both feeling comfort from one another, they grew closer until Spike was sitting on Faye's bed next to her, his arms wrapped tightly around her weeping body.

She laid her head on his chest and wept uncontrollably into his shirt. She couldn't help it, she was partially crying from all the overwhelming events recently and another part from the amazing security and warmth she felt when being wrapped in Spike's arms.

Faye never imagined it would feel like this, the warmth, the comfort, she could have never imagined. It was this amazing and it was as if she had slipped into another world, and soon her sobs began to slowly diminish.

Spike could feel Faye calming down much to his relief, as she lay on his chest he rested his chin atop her head and closed his eyes. He couldn't explain the feelings he had had the last few hours, but he was sure of one thing, he rather enjoyed having the shrewish Faye Valentine wrapped in his arms.

-

"Klark! You fool! Where the hell is Motomura?" Yukio screamed, holding the chubby man's collar in his clenched fist.

Klark held his head back in disgust as Yukio screamed sending spit flying toward his face. "I was at work! I can't be expected to take care of that fool each and every minute. Where were _you_ Yukio?" Klark shrieked back.

"It wasn't my responsibility to be watching that half-wit. Where's the girl?" Yukio yelled, letting go of the doctor's collar, dropping him to the floor.

"I left her in that room," Klark stated while pointing to the room with the dinner table.

"You fool! I was in there already, there is no sign of the girl. Motomura had better not have taken her off someplace. Ah, that child!" Yukio was furious, not only was the girl missing but so was Motomura? Yukio could only imagine what he could be doing with her.

In the past few weeks Motomura had been over anxious to test his new found abilities that Yukio himself had taught him, unfortunately Yukio wouldn't allow him to go out and test them just yet.

Motomura had no patience, and Yukio knew this. It was only a matter of time until he went off on his own, he thought that he had all the great knowledge that Yukio had, the man was too hot headed to realize his own faults.

Yukio had stressed the fact that Yukio did not get as great as he was by going off and making judgments at the drop of a pin. Yukio was had never been captured and was seemingly invincible. Perhaps studying under him gave Motomura the impression that he too was invincible, which was highly unlikely. The man had an idea and acted on it, without thinking things through. Yukio, however, knew that that would soon be the one downfall of Motomura. He was a smart kid, only 24 and already so far in his works, but he needed discipline. He often rebelled against Yukio's word, leaving him vulnerable for bounty hunters and police to snatch him up. Which often worried Yukio, if Motomura was captured by hunters or the ISSP, he could tell everyone of where Yukio is and his current doings. Motomura was sure in trouble this time!

Yukio slammed his fist down into the nearest table, "Damn that boy! He's not only going to get us into his mess, but probably kill himself."

-

When entering the Bebop's hanger Jet noticed the way the Swordfish II had been parked. It looked as if Spike pulled in and immediately stopped, it was difficult for Jet to get his oversized Hammerhead in. Spike was never so careless.

Sighing, Jet managed to set his mono down in it's normal area, and he leapt outside of it carrying with his medical supplies he picked up for Faye. He was hoping that Spike took a little bit of care for her, but he wouldn't have been surprised if he just laid her down in her bed and left her there.

Entering the Bebop, Jet's fears came true. There he sat, on that damned yellow couch! As calm as always, watching Big Shot.

"What the hell Spike?" Jet fumed. His comrade honestly left Faye alone without any care?

Spike looked quickly over to Jet, a puzzled look over his face, "What?"

"Did you do _anything_ to help her?" Jet asked a bit angered but walking towards Faye's room instead of arguing.

"Don't go in there Jet!" Spike yelled slightly towards the heavy man who turned around giving a quizzical look. Spike answered him, "She's sleeping."

"So you _did_ help her then?" Jet asked crossing his arms.

"Of course I did. She was badly injured!" Spike responded in protest.

Jet smirked, "So there is some kindness in your veins, eh Spike?"

"Yah, yah," Spike replied waving his hand in the air, dismissing the thought.

Jet left the room laughing leaving Spike alone to his thoughts.

He couldn't get over the feelings he felt when he was with Faye earlier. He never could have imagined that he had feelings for the woman he hated so much. Was it possible?

When he had her wrapped in his arms, he felt at peace. She cried and cried and all he wanted to do was stifle the sobs. Why did he care so much? It just didn't make any sense.

Soon after Faye's tears subsided she fell asleep on his chest, and Spike looked down to her peaceful form and felt bliss. Bliss? Nothing made any sense to him, he never even thought he had feelings for the shrew woman until he walked into the room and saw her disheveled form lying in a heap on the ground. Something came over him at that very moment; he wanted to protect her, but why?

Perhaps the oddest part of everything was after Faye slept; Spike placed her neatly under her sheets and covered her. As he looked over her sleeping form, he smiled, and then bent over and kissed her forehead. He hadn't even thought over the action, it was done subconsciously.

He now had strange desires to go and check on her, make sure she was fine. Even though he knew that she was. Obviously she was. What was going to harm her? She was safe in the Bebop, and he knew it.

His sudden change in character both excited him and angered him. The fact that he might have feelings for her was the most surprising, he never felt them before. They just appeared.

Spike stood up from the yellow couch and turned off the TV, it was getting late after all. He began to slowly walk towards his room, but before he did he stopped in front of Faye's door and listened. Silence.

He then slowly and quietly opened her door and allowed his head to enter. Inside he saw that Faye still slept the same exact way he had left her.

Smiling to himself he began to shut the door. "Spike…" Was she awake? He opened the door all the way and walked inside and up to her bed. She was still sleeping.

Noticing that she must have been talking in her sleep he pushed her hair back away from her face and took one last glance of the sleeping shrew, and he departed her room.

Entering his own room he lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. Soon he was lost in sleep with only his thoughts to take him places.

-

Author's Notes: Wow, finally got to read it, huh? I really am sorry for the computer troubles. I just hope that everything is ok now. Sigh...I don't know what I'll be able to do if it goes down again:( Well, anyways, thanks so much for everyone that reviewed, and I'm truly sorry the wait was SO long!

**Solid Snake SNK1:** Ah! I'm so sorry that I didn't have this out within a week! Erff, and I was going to have it out too! I had half of it typed by Tuesday and then this computer decided to pull a nasty trick on me! So sad! Anyways, thanks for the nicest review I've ever gotten! You're so sweet! I'm so glad you like it! I'm glad I'm help! Never thought I would be some sort of inspiration! Now that my computer is working again, I'm planning on reading some of yours! So you can get some lovely reviews as well! Thank you SOO much!

**Neko-Yuff16**: Ha, you defiantly passed with flying colors! And Spike sure got mad at someone, unfortunately it wasn't Klark..well, not yet at least! Ha, you're good at this guessing game! Thank you again!

**Amethyst-tears**: Hey now, I'm not getting bothered with your questions. I love questions! Keep them up! Thanks again for the compliments too! You are all so nice to me! Thanks so much for your kindness!

**Fireinu:** Thank you very much! I'm glad that you like my story!

**Babygurl101: **Thank you! Glad to see that you like it!

**4catmaniac:** You really think it has a nice flow? Awesome! Thanks a lot for reviewing. I plan on updating quite often, if my computer allows it, but I'm fairly certain everything is ok again. Thank you for your compliments, and I hope to hear from you again!

Well, I hope everything is well now that I've got to send out this chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed it! Thanks for all the kind reviews everyone!

Later Space Cowboys…


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